What Divides Us
by Invader Kathy Starsky
Summary: Primeverse AU. Zettabyte, the adopted son of the late Sentinel Zeta Prime, is tired of being judged and feeling helpless in the midst of the war. Now on Earth, he is determined to put his ideas into action. However, when he gains the most unlikely of powers, will he still be able to fix what his adoptive father caused? Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

What Divides Us

Primeverse AU; Takes place in Season 1 before T.M.I. Zettabyte, the adoptive son of the late Sentinel Zeta Prime, has been alone and judged all his life until he arrives on Earth and gets his life turned upside down when he acquires powers unseen by humans and Cybertronians. He uncovers many truths and misunderstandings….and more. But what can one "half-breed" outcast do to help stop the war on Earth? OCs and a bit of a Danny Phantom parody/crossover. Some characters are a bit OOC. Don't like then don't read and don't give me immature attitude in the comments. The word Amma is borrowed from the lovely Speedstreak360;3 Thanks Speedy!

Warnings: Violence, Cybertronian cursing, and a little character bashing.

A short fanfic that will lead to a long run of related fanfics.

Sparkling-Baby Sire-Father (Lunar) Orbital Cycle-1 Day/Night

Sparklet-Toddler Carrier-Mother Megacycle- Hour

Youngling-Kid/Pre teen Amma-adoptive mother Solar Cycle- year (in Cybertronian)

Mechling/Femmenet- Teen Oppa-adoptive father Metacycle-month

Astrosecond- second Nano-klik-minute Orn-week

Note that I found some of these words online but I changed their meanings a bit. Hence I give the makers of TF credit for these words.

Chapter 1: Prologue

The mechling looked out upon the vast space of blackness which was faintly lit with far off stars and comets. The pod he was currently inside of was extremely small with only a berth, which was built right beneath the large ceiling window, for him to lay on. The somewhat mirror like surface of the pod's window just barely gave him a good look at his reflection.

A red and blue paintjob with a frame that was a little lithe and muscular. A sleek helm with a slim facial structure that somehow matched his talon-like fingers. But perhaps the most unusual of all his features were his optics. They were shaped in a angular way like many of his fellow Cybertronians and they had dark but slim optic brows to go with them. It was their color that attracted the most attention.

While the right one was a crystal blue like the majority of Cybertronians, the left one was…red. An optic color most associated with the Decepticons, the most feared members of the Cybertronian race.

Zettabyte closed his optics at the thought. He could still recall the time when he was a sparklet, during the pre-stages of the war, when he heard the nobles whisper about him being conceived forcefully by "low caste" bot, as they were the first known Cybertronians to have red colored optics. As he grew into his youngling stage, it became hard to ignore the hidden insults. The only thing that gave him some sort of triumphant feeling was that his adoptive sire intimidated them to the point where Zettabyte was certain is saw them mouth sheepish apologies even when they had not said anything.

Who was his father? Why none other than the late previous Prime; Sentinel.

Looking back now, Zettabyte felt a sliver of guilt. Having Sentinel Zeta Prime was a blessing yet a curse. Yes the mechling had been given everything he needed to grow into a healthy adolescent but at what cost? Another low caste family going hungry? Another bonded pair's child being denied a chance to get a good education? Another bot's chance at getting a raise gone down the drain? These questions had plagued the mismatched mechling since his early youngling years.

He had often doubted that Sentinel even cared for him, as the Prime had always been away on business or at ritzy gatherings or just plain political issues that ended with more problems than they started out with. Even when he was present, he may as well have been in another place. He ignored every gift, conversation, or thought Zettabyte presented him with, only responding with "Mm-hm." His attempts at greeting his Oppa home were only meant with a pat on the helm before the blue and bronze mech went to his office to do his work or to the communications room to rant at his colleagues.

The only condolence he got was the fact that his loneliness was shared by another; his adoptive mother, Theta. A small smile came to Zettabyte's face as he recalled the femme who had loved him like he was her own. Her lack of fertility didn't stop her from wanting a sparkling which led to his adoption. And it was her sympathy towards the lower caste that encouraged him to go behind his father's back to help them.

It was small things. He saved the treats and whatever sustenance he could find from his meals and brought it to the hungry sparklings and younglings that were scattered in the opens areas near the mines or looked after in the Kaon Youth Centers. He would give the Creation Day credits to the mechs and femmes whose only shelters were rickety old storage sheds or pieces of metal barely standing up. Sometimes he would take the sparkling first aid kit that Theta would bring with her when she took him to the Iacon Youth Park and attempt to patch up the wounds of some of the miners who would let him.

Theta never questioned him. In fact, Zettabyte was pretty sure she knew what he was doing but she actually seemed happy about his actions. She was known for her donations (which were secret too everybody but him and the low caste members) and her protectiveness of sparklings growing up in the slums whenever nobles spat abuse at them or gave them a dirty look.

The mismatched mechling's earliest memory of her was when they had been taking a stroll when she stopped to offer comfort to a femmenet who had been insulted by a passing noble femmenet. Theta had then immediately turned to that noble, with a look that would make the smelting pits' heat equal to that of a small flame, before putting her in her place.

"That femmenet may not be rich, but she has a lot more social civility than you could ever afford," she had spoken with a cold tone. "And atleast her paint job doesn't make her look like a pleasure bot."

Every bot within a 10 feet radius stopped and stared at the Prime's mate. The noble femmenet stared at his Amma in shock before sputtering and running away in embarrassment. When the femmenet's creators had confronted his Amma and Oppa later that very same solar cycle, his Amma remained calm and sophisticated.

"I was merely reminding her of what's expected of a noble her age. Young femmes shouldn't be walking around shouting slander like drunk construction bots," she proudly stated in a matter of factly voice. "Not to mention that there were countless sparklings and younglings in that area, including my own. If bots her age wish to be treated like adults then they need to set a good example for the younger ones and behave respectfully in public, no matter who's present."

Zettabyte had been surprise when his Oppa had agreed with his Amma before dismissing the couple who had left in a fluster. That moment had given him a feeling of sharp glee. As though he had witnessed true justice. It most likely was. Like his Amma and a good portion of the population, Zettabyte knew what the caste system was; pure inequality and injustice.

He saw evidence of this when he went to the Energon market with Theta and saw lower caste bots walking out with a cube smaller than their heads while nobles walked out with enough large cases of Energon to feed a colony of Insecticons. He saw it when he would walk pass the other nobles and notice how now matter what time or place it was, they were brightly painted with a waxy finish that smelled of crystal flowers while he would look at a lone low caste bot and see that they were caked with rust, ashes, and grime. But the worse that he'd seen was miners and gladiators sporting signs of illnesses or infections but unable to receive proper aid because of the pitiful donations and supplies given to slum medics.

That was one of the reasons he became interested in the field of medicine and science. That and the fact that Zettabyte saw it as a sort of neutral subject in the midst of the horrid caste system. Everything about it seemed to be aimed towards the benefit of all bots; lower caste or upper caste, femme or mech, young or old. The scientists and medics seemed uncaring and unafraid of the caste system's looming dominion. Perhaps the most vital reason was his Amma's influence. Her sense of empathy to the struggling bots and firm and defiant against her own fellow nobles was astonishing to his young mind. Everytime she walked out into public, it was almost as if she glowed an invisible aurora that brought warmth to the less fortunate and sparked fear into the sparks of the selfish and wicked. She had a kind and strong spark.

But in the end, it was not enough to keep her healthy and alive physically.

Her lack of fertility was just one symptom of the disease that was stealing away her life. It was a virus that had arisen when she had just became a full grown femme. It had subsided before she'd bonded with Sentinel. No one, not even Theta, counted on it to return at full force. What had started as simple coughs had turn into full blown surgeries and injections. As the virus progressed, Theta began refusing her treatments, seeing her end as inevitable. Zetta could still remember the last words she said to him in her dying breaths.

"Be strong. Be brave. Don't allow others to dictate who you are my sparkling. You are who you wish to be or become. No one can take that away from you," her voice was crackly from the virus but her smile and loving gaze never wavered. Zettabyte had spent those last few moments clinging onto her as golden fluids streamed from his optics.

Not too long after her funeral, Sentinel sent him to go to a Cybertronian boarding academy. It was there that Zettabyte began his goal at becoming a medic and a scientist. He took careful notes, he checked over his assignments, he would study late into the night before exams, and in his spare time he would read datapads of any kind. His hard work paid off as he graduated at the top of his science classes. His next step was to attend a Medical Trainee Center and be taught by a veteran medic who would then send him off to the Medical and Science Councils to see if he was true medic and scientist material. Fate was not a simple being however.

The academy that the Prime's son was sent off to was incredibly sheltered from many distractions, including the war. This came to an end when a bomb landed on the outskirts of the academy and the teachers were force to evacuate the students and, as a result, halting the goals of young bots like Zettabyte. Three orns after the evacuation of the academy, the mismatched mechling had been told that Sentinel was dead.

All Zettabyte could remember was blacking out and awaking an orbital cycle later in the medbay. Once he had been filled in about what had transpired during the time he was temporarily offline, an unfamiliar medic came up to him and offered him condolences.

While setting a servo gently on Zettabyte's shoulder, he softly said, "It'll get easier in time. The wounds will leave scars but they will heal. You'll see."

Another orn passed before he was ushered onto a ship called _Haven,_ a ship for adolescent bots who sought to complete some more education before attempting to join the older Autobot soldiers. Zettabyte wasn't keen on the thought of holding a weapon. He was aiming to be a medic. Medics save lives, not destroy them. Hadn't the Decepticons suffered enough? Didn't anyone else realize than more than eighty nine percent of the Decepticons were former slaves, miners, gladiators, and Vosnians who snapped because of discrimination? Did no one care that each time a Cybertronian died, be it Autobot and Decepticon, that their species became closer to extinction? Was the war worth losing their home, the ones they use to call their brothers and sisters, and their lives?

Zettabyte never told any bot these thoughts. How could he without being labeled as "Con sympathizer" or worse, a "possible traitor?" Even if he could, who would listen? All his peers were concerned with was just finishing their classes in order to be qualified as capable soldiers while the older bots just seemed to be busy with the welfare and learning experience that he and his classmates would receive. In fact, no bot seemed to pay any attention to him unless they were teasing him, listening to him answer a question from the teacher, or partnered with him for a project.

Life on the _Haven_ had been…mediocre at best. The ship had a small library area stocked with as much data pads and documentary holo vids as the teachers could salvage from the now ruined archives and libraries that stood crumbling back on their barren planet. It wasn't the same as watching a real life medic at work but Zettabyte could make do. He watched and read everything he could twice an orn, three times if he got the chance. He would read and observe class topics and subjects if he finished early or the the class got a small break. A few times he went up to the teachers and asked if he could have a sneak peek at some of the specimens or holo scans to which they often would, if only for a few nano-kliks. The only thing he couldn't bear was the hostility they would get everytime they so much as landed on a planet.

Word had spread throughout the galaxy that his people's "precious caste system" had ended in the loss of their "high and mighty planet." These species' feared for their own well-being and the safety of their planet as they knew Cybertronians needed to mined and harvest energy to create Energon or Energon itself and that sometimes the methods could lead to the damaging of the planet's other resources or structures. This thinking led to conflict whenever the _Haven_ would land on either of these said planets. Sometimes they would allow the metal titans refuge but only for a short amount of time. Other times there would be violent arguments between his teachers and the planet's rulers in a debate that was a twist of negotiations and accusations. And more often than not, it would end with the planet's natives chasing them off while roaring abuse.

Strangely enough, Zettabyte didn't blame him. Who wants a group of robotic sentient beings who have devolved from a almost deity-like stature into nomadic refugees and marauders? He was no fool. He had heard rumors about Cybertronians coming to planets and attempting to forcefully dig Energon out of the ground of the planet they invaded. He had also heard rumors of random ships, filled with soldiers or not, being attacked out of nowhere. That last one turned out to be proven true. Six metacycles after the _Haven'_ s latest failure to find a planet to take refuge on the ship was attacked.

The teachers had shouted for him and his classmates to grab whatever they could and get to the escape pods while the guards headed to where the ship was hit or vulnerable in defense. Zettabyte had wasted no time in going into his room and gather his belongings. In the end he only had three; one was filled with sparkling-hood keepsakes and treasures that he managed to keep safe since Theta's departing, another with supplies and tools that all students aboard the ship had been given, and the last was filled with the notes, data pads, holo scans, and holo vids he had taken from the library on his way to the he had safely loaded his cargo into the pod, the mechling had hopped in without hesitation. The rest was history.

Now here he was, alone in the vastness of space. The ones who had attacked the _Haven_ had been more crafty than he thought as they had deactivated all communications in any way they could. That included deactivating the communications in his escape pod and most likely in the escape pods of his classmates. The pod was stuck aimlessly on autopilot and would only land if the scanners sensed a Autobot signal on any nearby planets. So far there had been no traces of such signals or signs of any other drifting life form.

Zettabyte tossed and turned on his berth, unable to get comfortable. He didn't bother to check his internal clock. What use was there knowing the time when you didn't know where you were or when you would see civilization again? These thoughts made shivers of fear wrack his body. Was he truly destined to continue drifting through space.

Shaking his head Zettabyte inwardly scolded himself, _No! Don't be ridiculous! There has got to be a planet with a few Cybertronians on it. We're scattered throughout the universe for Primus' sake! The ship will eventually find one. I can hold on a little while longer._

Nano-kliks after he reassured himself, the mismatched mechling felt the pod lurch in a way that made his helm hit the side of the pod with a dull _CLING_! Groaning, he rubbed his helm just as a holo screen popped up, covering the upper half of the window. In Cybertronian it read;

ALERT! CYBERTRONIAN INHABITED PLANET DETECTED! SETTING COURSE FOR PLANET. WILL BE ARRIVING IN TWO MEGACYCLES. PREPARE FOR A SAFE LANDING.

Zettabyte stared in awe. He blinked three times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He reread it over and over to make sure he hadn't misunderstood. This was it. He had finally found a planet with other Cybertronians on it! Breathing a sigh of relief and gratitude and sending a quick thank you prayer to Primus, he started to prepare himself for when the pod landed. However, he was unaware of how his presence on the destined planet would change his fate.

Well here it is! The first chapter to my first fanfic that will lead to a long string of related fanfics. I hope I did good. To those who review and give their well constructed opinions and what not, I say thank you. To haters, I will flame you. Thank you readers for your time. I only own Zettabyte, Theta, and the fanfic idea. To the creators of Transformers and Danny Phantom I give them respective credit.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Meetings and Rejections

All Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. I only own Zettabyte.

[ha]-when the bots are talking through comms Servo(s)-hand(s) Bi-pedal mode-robot form

{ha}-when Agent Fowler is talking to them via communications Helm-Head

 **[Ha]-** when Bumblebee is talking Pede(s)-Foot/Feet Alt. mode- vehicle form

 _Ha-_ thoughts Processor-Brain Scum bucket-scumbag

In Nevada, on the outskirts of a small town called Jasper, a hidden base that was usually full of noisy laughter and tomfoolery was currently quiet and peaceful, much to the delight of one lone Autobot medic.

Ratchet hummed as he stared at the monitors. He finally had some alone time. The children had been taken home early as their parents (host parents in Miko's case) wanted them in early since it was a school night. The other bots were no doubt on patrol, looking out for Decepticon activity. Optimus was yet in another conference with Agent Fowler and his superiors.

"Finally, a chance to get some work done without having my audios blown off by that irritating noise," Ratchet commented to himself, referring to Miko's guitar playing.

Honestly! Didn't the girl know that his work was vital to the survival of the team? Of course no matter how many times the medic urged her guardian to try to correct her behavior, it just ended with the Wrecker joining in on her "fun."

"Of course he wouldn't reprimand her. Why would he when he's just as reckless as her!?" he vented, started to feel intense irritation coming on, unaware that he was squeezing the heck out of one of the wrenches he was organizing.

Ratchet's ire halted when he heard the low groan of compressing metal in his clenching fist. He looked down to see that the handle of the wrench was now slightly dented. Sighing in aggravation, he put the tool down and began doing the Cybertronian equivalent of rubbing his "temples."

It wasn't that he hated the children. In fact, he found their presence slightly endearing, especially Raf's (not that he would ever admit that). He just wished that they would take the war more seriously. Yes, it sounded selfish considering that this wasn't their war to fight but he wished that they would understand that their guardians couldn't always be their playmates. Feeling the last remnants of his helm-ache start to wane he took deep vents, inhaling and exhaling.

 _Relax Ratchet,_ he told himself inwardly, _Getting upset is not an option. Think positive; the kids are gone, the team is out, you have the base to yourself and more quiet time than you've had in the last several metacycles. It won't do you any good to ruin it by thinking of the past. Just calm do-"_

He was unable to finish his thought as the screen went off with loud pings.

"MOTHERBOARD FRAGGER!" the Autobot medic roared.

Looking up at the console in aggravation he expected to see one of one of the others bots, his leader, or Agent Fowler calling in or perhaps a Decepticon signal on the move. But what he saw shocked him with an emotion crossed between apprehension and excitement. On the screen showed the incoming signal of a ship and not just any ship. A Cybertronian pod, a vessel only capable of holding one bot.

The computer was unable to designate whether it was of Autobot or Decepticon origin but it did show that it was driving in a straight line, a sign that it was in autopilot and that whoever was inside was either in stasis or incapable of handling of the pod's control panels. After analyzing the data, Ratchet immediately activated his comm to Arcee.

Speaking in an urgent tone, the medic asked, "Arcee do you read me?"

The femme immediately responded in a tone full of urgent concern, [Ratchet, what's wrong?]

"The computer scanners just picked up an incoming vessel," Ratchet answered seriously.

[WHAT?!]

Ratchet could easily hear the Wrecker and scout. He had guessed that they had been listening through their own comms.

Ratchet continued, "It'll be landing, I estimate, by tonight somewhere on the outskirts of the town. The scanner can't tell if it's friend or foe. After your patrol, return to base immediately and wait for further instructions from Optimus. I'll see you three back soon. Comm me when you're ready to be bridged."

[Alright,] Arcee agreed before she and their other two teammates turned their comms off.

No sooner had Ratchet returned to the computer did he hear the oncoming engine of a truck. He turned around in time to see his leader just finish transforming out of his vehicle form and into his robot form.

"Optimus I'm glad you're here. The scanners picked up an unknown Cybertronian pod just nano-kliks before you returned." Ratchet spoke immediately.

"Have you alerted the others?" Optimus questioned, his voice holding a tone of serious interest but his expression never wavered.

Nodding, Ratchet answered, "Yes just a few sec-, I mean, astroseconds ago."

Darn those kids for rubbing off their language for time on him.

"Thank you, old friend. We'll need to call them back immediately just as a caution. If this new Cybertronian is a friend, we must prepare space for them to join us. But if it's a foe, we must apprehend them to keep them from harming the humans or uniting with their Decepticon brethren."

Ratchet obeyed his Prime without hesitance.

 _Four Earth hours later on the outskirts of the Nevada Desert_

"Well that landing could have been less…dramatic," Zettabyte grumbled as he stumbled out of the now partially dented and cracked escape pod.

The moment the pod had entered the planet's atmosphere, it had been far from a smooth landing. The pod had rocked and lurched as though something heavy was trying to shake it down. And it didn't help that Zetta's helm had been so _fraggin_ close to the window which was composed of the _hardest_ glass on Cybertron. Needless to say, it was a miracle that the ruby and sapphire mechling hadn't attained any critical processor trauma. But _SLAG_ did he have a helm ache.

Once the ship had landed, it had ceased its wild shaking. A few nano-kliks had passed until Zettabyte's vision no longer consisted of a spinning sky and he was able to gather his belonging and store them in his subspace. Now as he stepped onto the foreign ground he felt….off.

Looking down he saw that the ground was composed of tiny, granules of broken minerals that felt that if he were to take another step, he would slip and fall. Or perhaps he was still rocket lagged. Recalibrating his optics, he saw through the darkness that there were scattered pieces of vegetation, a few small nocturnal creatures, and some geometrical formations. Sensing no danger so far, he turned around and spotted something on the ground.

It was a black visor. Picking it up, he examined it. It was composed of a type of one way glass where the wearer could see everything through them while the bots they pass by couldn't see the wearer's optics. He had seen many of his more rebellious and anti-social classmates wear these in an attempt to remain unnoticed by particular bots or just to annoy the professors. Zettabyte had always felt slightly uncomfortable with the idea of wearing such things. They made bots look shady and, sometimes, ominous looking. He did admit that, at times, he would get curious about how they would fit and if the bots who wore them could really see well through them.

 _Still,_ the ruby and sapphire mech thought, feeling curiosity start to take control, _Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to just try them on._

He carefully slipped on. Amazingly, they fitted him well. He looked around and saw that his vision was still as clear as before. Zettabyte smiled slightly at the sliver of giddiness of trying a, in his opinion, small authority defying deed. That is until he heard the oncoming roars of Cybertronian engines.

Twisting around, after jumping in surprise, Zettabyte found himself blinded by several lights. After a nano-klik, the lights were turned off. As he blinked several times to help his optics readjust, he came face to face with four bots. One was yellow and black mechling like him, perhaps around the same age. The yellow mechling had doorwings similar to some of the Praxian students on the _Haven_ yet he did not look Praxian. Another thing Zettabyte couldn't help but notice was that a strange mouthpiece covered the mechling's mouth.

The next bot was a femme, the only one in the group seemed. She was a Cycle-former, or "two-wheeler" as he heard some bots call others whose alt. modes only had two wheels, hence the name. She was shorter than all her male counterparts, including Zettabyte. She was primarily blue but had some pink here and there. She had a crest and facial structure somewhat similar to his and even the shade of blue of her armor was the same shade of his blue areas. For some strange reason, the ruby and sapphire mechling felt as though he knew this femme but only briefly.

The next bot, a full grown mech, was taller than both the femme and mechling. He was large and muscular in a bulbous way. He had a large chin component and his arms and legs looked quite powerful. His armor was a dark toxic green with a few scars visible. The mech was obviously warrior class if not a Wrecker. But the height and powerful aura of this mech paled in comparison to the mech who stood right in the front of the group.

The mech was a combination of blue and red like him but just slightly darker shades. He stood taller than all three of the other bots. His posture and strong-looking armor almost made the green mech look like a gangly grunt. His expression was stern but not hostile. His helm was blue with audio finials and a frontal crest. After nearly half a nano-klik, though it had felt like megacycles, Zettabyte realized who he was in the presence of.

Optimus Prime.

A number of emotions ran through Zettabyte; shock, excitement, nervousness, embarrassment, and confusion. Before any words could spill from the ruby and sapphire mechling's mouth, the Prime spoke first.

In a strong but civil tone, Optimus spoke, "Hello young one. Welcome to Earth. I am Optimus Prime. The mechs and femme beside me are my teammates. Who are you?"

It was then that Zettabyte found his voice and spoke out as clear as he could, "Z-Zettabyte."

The Prime nodded before the yellow mechling and green mech bombarded him with questions.

"Are you a Bot or Con?"

 **[How old are you?]**

"What can you possibly offer to our team?"

 **[Do you like racing?]**

"Bulkhead, Bumblebee enough," the Prime commanded in a firm voice laced with hardened disapproval of their abrupt questions.

The Prime had nodded at both them when he spoke their names, signaling that the green mech was named Bulkhead and the yellow one was Bumblebee. What made Zettabyte curious was Bumblebee's voice pattern. It was of beeps and whirrs. If the yellow mechling had been on the _Haven_ , he would have been teased for using what the other mechlings and femmenets would label as "sparkling talk." Somehow, Zettabyte found it quite interesting.

Optimus pressed two fingers to the side of his helm before speaking, "Ratchet, our new arrival is a mechling. His name is Zettabyte and he has not shown any hostility towards us. Bridge us back."

Five astroseconds later, a pale blue-green glowing portal opened before the small group of bots. Zettabyte hesitated as the three male Cybertronians ventured through. The blue femme seemed to sense his distrust.

Walking over to him, Arcee placed a servo on Zettabyte's shoulder to comfort him and urge him. However, as she placed her servo on him, a strange feeling came over her. A warm, platonic feeling she had not felt for many millennias. Another sensation crossed her. It was the feeling of familiarity. She couldn't place it but she knew the young mechling from somewhere.

Shaking herself out of her own thoughts, she spoke as gently as she could, "C'mon kid. You don't want to stay out here."

Feeling himself become more relaxed, Zettabyte cooperated. As he entered the Groundbridge, the dizziness that had left him nano-kliks earlier almost reawakened. All around him were warped whisps of static energy. It wasn't until he got to the end of the Groundbridge did he finally realize where he now stood.

In the middle of the floor was an Autobot insignia. To Zettabyte's right was what looked to be a simple but unusual looking computer and scanner. Behind it were some strangely small stairs that led to a platform that looked to be big enough for a sparkling or Mini-con which connected to a corridor behind the computer. The left side held a single doorway to a corridor which no doubt led to the berth quarters, storage spaces, and other necessary rooms.

Optimus stepped beside him before speaking, "Welcome to our base. My fellow Autobots, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee, you have already met. Now I would like you to meet our medic, Ratchet."

Just as those last words left the Prime's mouth another mech appeared from the left corridor. He looked to be much older than his leader yet he was a bit shorter than Bulkhead. His stature of medic was obvious due to the lifeline arches painted red on his white arms. The red of the medic's, Ratchet's, armor was dull compared to his and Optimus' but the white seemed clean. The red chevron on the old mech's white helm gave him a slight no-nonsense look. In his arms were some medical supplies.

Putting on a polite smile, Zettabyte spoke, "Hello. It's nice to mee-"

"On the berth," Ratchet snapped in a gruff tone, pointing to a berth in the corner of the base that the ruby and sapphire mechling had not noticed.

Zettabyte was slightly startled, "I-I beg your par-"

"The. Berth. Now." This time it was ground out.

Feeling startled and slightly afraid, Zettabyte obeyed as he walked over to the berth. As he sat down, he was surprised to see the other four smiling. Seeing his confusion, Arcee stepped forward to explain.

"Don't take it personally. Ratchet gets like this around younglings all the time. It's his way of showing he cares," the blue femme said while ignoring the medic's huffs as he examined the ruby and sapphire mechling.

Zettabyte managed an awkward smile before saying, "It's alright. I'm actually glad that your team has an experienced medic. Perhaps he can teach me a thing or two. Or several things."

 **[Oh?],** Bumblebee questioned.

Zettabyte nodded before continuing, "Yes. I was studying to be a medic and a scientist before Cybertron went dark but even though I succeeded in my studies I wasn't able to get trained by a professional due to the war."

Optimus spoke again, this time in a grave tone, "It would seem that opportunities was another thing that this war stole from our species' youths."

 **[How did you end up here anyway, Zettabyte?]** Bumblebee questioned.

Wincing, Zettabyte sighed and explained, "Something…attacked the _Haven_ , the ship I was on. The professors and older bots had my classmates and I flee through the escape pods. What they didn't tell us was that the pods were set on autopilot. I don't know how long I was drifting through space."

Bulkhead grumbled, "It looks like we're not the only ones with Con issues."

Zettabyte blinked, "There are Decepticons here? How many? Fifteen? Twenty?"

The green mech snorted, "Try an army of over fifty plus Megatron."

This made the ruby and sapphire mech gap before stuttering, "M-Megatron? THE Megatron?!"

Optimus nodded, "You were lucky that we came to greet you before the Decepticons did."

 **[And before you were spotted by any humans,]** Bumblebee added.

Zettabyte looked at the yellow mechling strangely, "Humans? What are those?"

Ratchet explained, "They're Earth, this planet's, natives. They have never interacted with any beings outside their solar system despite the fact that some are interested in making contact with species such as ours."

Optimus joined in, "However, there are humans who are weary and fearful of the idea of intelligent beings beside themselves existing. But we cannot abandon them. Not while Megatron and his army are here. But to keep a safe optic on the humans, we hide in plain sight."

"Meaning that we scan Earth vehicles to replace our Cybertronian alt. modes with ones humans are more familiar with and cruise around in them to watch out for any Decepticon activity," Arcee clarified.

 **[We'll help you find an Earth vehicle to scan later. Cool visor by the way,]** Bumblebee chirped. It was then that Zettabyte realized that he was still wearing the visor.

"Uh thank you," Zettabyte said awkwardly. _Primus, the things you forget about when you're with new company,_ he thought to himself.

It was then that Zettabyte had an idea. He was on a new planet and a new group of bots. Led by Optimus Prime no less! He had heard of the mech's compassionate and open-minded views and his well thought out actions. Maybe, just maybe, if Zettabyte were to explain his ideas and plans to the older mech, the Prime would listen. Perhaps he would even consider using the ruby and sapphire mechling's ideas! It was a long shot and very unlikely scenario but Zettabyte would never know if he didn't try.

Inhaling and exhaling as quietly and discreetly as he could, he walked up to Optimus who currently seemed to be in deep thought. Zettabyte hesitated slightly but then continued forward. He was NOT going to back out now. Coming to stop a few inches before the older mech, Zettabyte waited a couple of nano-kliks before clearing his airways. It worked as the Prime turned his attention to him.

"Yes, can I help you Zettabyte?" Optimus inquired gently.

Zettabyte nodded as re replied, "Yes sir. I…I would like to tell you somethings…ideas to be specific…"

"I would be happy to hear what you are thinking," Optimus spoke, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Zettabyte nodded before beginning, "I don't need to tell you that this war has gone on for too long. Nor do I need to tell you that this could have been avoided if only the caste system had been torn down before the lower caste bots joined the Decepticons and rose up to attack those they felt wronged them."

Optimus nodded as he listened. By then, the other bots had gathered to listen to Zettabyte.

The ruby and sapphire mechling continued, "Before Megatron set out to conquer Cybertron, he was a laborer turned gladiator who set out to change Cybertron for the good of those who were mistreated because of that awful caste. The last straw was when the High Council turned him away. But that's just it. This war was started not just because of the caste of Megatron's rage, but because of the wrong done against those whose labor never gained them anything meaningful. Aren't the upper caste bots more to blame for their cruelty they showed those bots that led to them having warped violent thoughts than the bots themselves?"

The bots stared at Zettabyte, optics wide and mouths slightly a gaped. Encouragement swept through Zettabyte like a supernova.

 **[So what are you saying?]** Bumblebee asked.

Zettabyte held out his servos as he went on, "I'm saying that we do what should have been done all those millennias ago. We message the Decepticons, asking them to meet us in a specific place. We meet them there, look them straight in the optics, and proclaim that they didn't deserve that the caste and the nobles did to them and we're sorry for not standing beside them in their time of desperation when Megatron, or Megatronus, challenged the unethical treatment that he and his fellow miners, slaves, and gladiators were receiving.

As Zettabyte finished, all he was met with was silence. It wasn't like he was expecting an applause but-

"What's wrong with you?" Bulkhead snapped.

"Bulkhead!" Arcee hissed in a slightly angry voice.

"What?! Are you kidding me?! He can't be serious!" the green Wrecker bit back.

Zettabyte then began again, "I am serious. The Decepticons weren't always the mechs and femmes we know and fear. They were hard working bots who were treated like dirt because of the jobs they were _forced_ to choose. All those denied opportunities and the onslaught of tragedies they endured is what made them snapped! It's what made Megatron snap!"

Optimus spoke up in a cool tone, "I cannot disagree with Zettabyte. The wrong done against the Decepticons who use to be members of the lower caste was what led them down the path of evil. But Zettabyte what you must understand is that Megatron would not just end the war by us coming to him and simply delivering a long overdue acknowledgement of what wrong he endured as a gladiator."

Zettabyte refused to be deterred and he asked questioningly, "Has any bot tried?"

Bulkhead scoffed, "Why bother when old Bucket-Head is just gonna use it as an excuse to slag us when our backs are turned. Besides he's done too many unforgiveable things for us to let go."

"I bet the nobles committed as many unforgiveable acts if not more," Zettabyte rebuked.

"Why are you so eager to make nice with The Slag-Maker anyway?"

"Because…because it was my adoptive father who wronged him and his fellow lower caste bots," Zettabyte admitted in shame.

"What are you talking about? It was Sentinel Prime who established the caste," Arcee said in confusion. It took three nano-kliks for the five Autobots to realize what Zettabyte was trying to say.

"You…you're that slagger's adopted son?" Bulkhead hissed violently.

Zettabyte nodded looking down before responding, "I never agreed with his ideals. And neither did my Amma, Theta. Every day when we looked at the lower caste and we would feel horror and shame. I felt so helpless to fix their lives. That's why I aim to become a medic and scientist. To fix and help those who need me instead of just waiting on the sidelines."

But that wasn't enough for Bulkhead. The Wrecker aggressively shoved Zettabyte while shouting, "That doesn't change what he did!"

"Bulkhead!" Ratchet scolded angrily as Zettabyte fell down with a sharp _THUD_. The other three bots held a hand to help him up. That's when they stopped. What they saw shocked them. The visor had slid down his face slightly in a comical way, similar to how sometimes human glasses slid down the noses of their wearers. But that's not what had gotten their attention. It was his optics. The one on the left was the same shade of crystal blue as theirs but the one on the right…was a fiery Decepticon red.

After ten astroseconds, Zettabyte realized what they were staring at and franticly readjusted his visor while stuttering out, "I-I-"

"You're HALF Con?!" Bulkhead roared in outrage. Before Zettabyte had a chance to speak out, he narrowly managed to dodge a punch from the Wrecker as he frantically scrambled to his pedes.

Bulkhead continued his tirade, "That's why you were spouting all that peace-making and forgiveness non-sense! You were trying help those scum buckets!"

Zettabyte was too frightened and hurt to fight back, verbally and physically. He had taken a few defense classes but with being slightly rusty and malnourished, Zettabyte was in no position to go up against a raging Wrecker. Shouts from the others rang through the base as they wrestled the green mech to the ground. But by then Zettabyte had had enough. Transforming as fast as he could into his alt. mode, the mismatched mechling sped through the tunnel that the Groundbridge had been at and didn't stop until he could no longer see the rocky guise that was the Autobot base or recall what directions he had driven through to flee. As he stopped and went into bi-pedal mode, a cold realization hit Zettabyte.

He was alone again. And there was no chance of him joining Optimus and his Autobots again.

*Dodges angry Bulkhead fans* I know that Bulkhead seems more cold-sparked in this story than in the series but don't forget I did say OOC. And from my perspective, the Autobots can be a little unforgiving and harsh sometimes. Don't worry, things will get more interesting but ratings may change. Please read and review. And any comments and haters aimed to bash me will be ignored. Flamers will get burned.

Until next chapter, Happy Reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Unlikely Saviors and Chances

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. I only own Zettabyte, Theta and this fanfic idea. Note that I made up some names for the MECH agents, but they still belong to Hasbro.

Warning-There is some mentions of ArceexKnock Out (past) and hints of one-sided ArceexKnock Out (though that will change for the better *wink* *wink*) in this chapter. There is also hints of death of humans and Cybertronians (not the main characters though).

Denta-Teeth Optic-Eye Digit-Finger Audio-Ear Chassis-Chest Frame-Body

 _[Ha]-_ Walkie Talkie talk Vented/Inhale and exhale-Breathe Spinal Strut-Back/Spine

Stasis/Offline-Unconsciousness Recharge-Sleep Protocols-Instincts

life Energon-blood Energon CMO-Commanding Medical Officer Jaw joint-jaw

Vehicons-servant drones (miners, patrol scouts, look outs, engineers, messengers, etc.)

Forehelm-Forehead Extinguished/Terminated-Killed Lip Components-Lips

Eradicons-warrior drones (soldiers, offense, defense, back up, frontliners etc.) Online-awake

TIC- Third-In-Command Holo-vid-video Holo-scan-picture Tanks-Stomach/Abdomen

Silas looked up from his notes on what he and his men learned about while trying to dissect Breakdown when he heard the knock on his office door.

"Come in," he said in a cold calculative tone before one of his soldiers came in.

"Sir, scanners have picked up a lone Cybertronian signal in the northeast part of the desert," the soldier reported professionally and audibly through the dingy green mask.

"Is it an Autobot or Decepticon?" Silas asked, his cold tone and stoic face never wavering.

The soldier, whose was referred to as Nikolai, continued, "Not clear. Usually both sides scout in pairs of two or more. But this one is completely alone. We should take the chance while we have the opportunity."

Silas nodded in agreement before asking, "Has the energy canister we need for our new stun gun arrived so we can catch our prize?"

"Yes sir," Novo confirmed calmly.

The MECH leader nodded as he started to leave the room while saying, "Attach it immediately and alert the others. I want that Cybertronian in our clutches as soon as we can."

Not ten seconds after Silas left did Nikolai called his fellow MECH associates, who were in charge of taking care of the weapons and transport vehicles, via walkie talkie.

"I just told the boss. He wants the stun gun set up now," Nikolai said in a firm and authoritative voice. There was static for a few seconds before he got a response from Johnson, the head of the weapons team.

 _[There's…a slight problem,]_ Johnson's worried voice came out crackily through the walkie talkie.

"What problem?!" Nikolai hissed in an aggravated and fearful tone. Faults and errors were not welcomed in the MECH organization. Though none of them would admit it, Silas could be psychotic and violent when he wanted to be. Especially when it came to ruined opportunities due to mistakes caused by his soldiers.

Johnson continued to speak, _[It's the canister…it looks smaller than it should be. And the energy that it emits isn't blue or white…The energy…is…green. Like bright, neon green.]_

Nikolai cursed. Knowing Silas, he and the other were expected to be ready in ten minutes or less. They definitely did NOT have enough time to get a new energy canister. But there was no way that he was going to be the one to tell his leader that there was an issue and they wouldn't be able to fix it right away. Finally Nikolai came to a decision. It was risky but it was the only one he could think of.

"Insert it," Nikolai commanded.

Johnson voice came out confused and concerned, _[What?]_

"You heard me," Nikolai snapped in an impatient tone.

Johnson attempted to protest, _[But the stun gun was built for a specific type of energy canister! We can't just-]_

Nikolai interrupted his colleague with a snarl, "Unless you can pull the right canister out of thin air in a matter of minutes we don't have any choice! It's either a botched mission or a missed opportunity and I'm pretty sure that Silas would prefer the former! If it works, we worried over nothing! If it doesn't, we blame the delivery guy and hope the boss agrees!"

There was a short stretch of silence before Johnson meekly agreed, _[Alright.]_

 _Meanwhile_

Zettabyte sat alone on the desert floor under the light of Earth's moon, face buried in his servos. He was too numb inside to cry or too care about some of the gritty minerals getting into the seams of his armor. He had experienced bullying and quiet discrimination but never had he experienced such hostility and violent behavior.

Once another ten nano-kliks had passed, Zettabyte allowed his servos to retreat to his sides as he lifted his head to gaze at the night sky. The stars glittering above reminded him of when Theta took him to the Crystal City Observatory to look at the stars and other heavenly bodies. The stars on Earth may be in different places but somehow they still brought him comfort like they did in his sparklinghood. Zettabyte smiled sadly at the memory before sighing in misery.

"I tried. I really did," he said to no one in particular. Perhaps to Primus? To Theta? To himself for comfort? He didn't know.

"Well I should probably get going. I won't accomplish anything just sitting around here feeling sorry for myself," Zettabyte proclaimed to himself. But where would he go? He certainly didn't trust the idea of going back to the base. Even if he did, he couldn't recall which way he came from.

 _Well I can't worry about that right now. Gotta keep moving,_ he decided inwardly. As he prepared to transform into his alt. mode however, something caught his optic. Despite the darkness, he could see several shapes of what seemed to be vehicles. But, from what Zettabyte could tell, they didn't resemble any Cybertronian alt. modes he knew. Then it hit him. They were Earth vehicles. Which meant that most likely, they held humans. The same natives that Optimus warned him were NOT suppose to be aware that a robotic species was hiding on their planet.

Before Zettabyte could react, the vehicles suddenly surrounded him. Some were large and looked to be heavily armored while others were slick and looked to be made for speed. The ruby and sapphire mechling watched in shock and apprehension as one of the doors to the slick vehicle most in the front open. Stepping out of it was a being that he could only assume was a human.

This human's "metal" seemed to be dark grey but his "helm" seemed to be composed of some kind of pale looking "metal" with some grayish-white material laid on the top of the said "helm." There was an angular protrusion in the middle of the human's "faceplate", a little above his mouth but right below his "optics." Speaking of the "optics", the human's optics weren't like any that Zettabyte saw before. They were mostly white but within each of their middles were two dark colored circles. On the sides of the human's "helm" were even more strangely shaped protrusions. Perhaps the most peculiar features were the scare plastered in various places on the human's "faceplate." It was then that the ruby and sapphire mechling realized that the human wasn't alone.

About fifteen or more figures stood behind the first human and while their "armor" was quite similar, the other humans "helms" were covered with a loose ding green material. What was so alarming is that they were all currently armed with firearms. Zettabyte felt fear crawl into his spark like a parasite. He watched nervously as the scarred human, who seemed to be the group's leader, step forward.

"Who are you?" the human asked in a deep, cool tone. Judging by the low pitch of the voice, Zettabyte could safely assume that the scarred human was a full-grown male.

Zettabyte vented shakily before responding, "I'm Z-Zettabyte, um, sir."

The ruby and sapphire mechling felt his faceplates heat up when he heard the quiet snickering from the other humans, causing him to feel even more anxiety than he already was. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or concerned that the scarred human was the only one not laughing.

"We are M.E.C.H. And I am Silas," the scarred human, Silas, proclaimed in a tone that seemed to foreshadow an omen.

That's when it hit Zettabyte. If Optimus said that humans were unaware of Cybertronians present on their planet, then why did Silas ask who he was instead of _what_ he was? Alarms rang shrilly in the ruby and sapphire mechling's processor as the cold sensation of dread slithered up his spinal strut.

As calmly and politely as he could, Zettabyte said to Silas, "I'm guessing that you guys are humans huh? Well I would love to stay and discuss various topics, I really must be on my way."

A cruel smile spread across Silas' face as he said in a sinister tone, "Oh you're not going anywhere."

Zettabyte froze at the sudden baleful tone and words. It was then that he noticed three things too late. One was that an odd flight capable Earth machine had just arrived behind him, still in midair. Another was that inside it, he could see a group of MECH members pointing what looked to be a large energy gun at him. The final thing he noticed was that it had shot a strange green beam at him which he, unfortunately, was unable to dodge in time.

Gritting his denta in pain and scrunching his optics close, Zettabyte fell to the ground as ringing filled his audios from the damage and shock caused by the blast hitting him. It smartedlike _slag_! He struggled to get up but the lack of proper Energon refueling had caught up with him, making his frame burn with fatigue. His processor fought with his systems to stay online but by how his vision glitched and started darkening, he knew he was losing.

As his systems slowly began to shut down, he sensed a change in his surroundings. The ground shook with tremors, almost as if something heavy was stomping around him. He heard what sounded like Cybertronian guns being fired and shouts from various voices, including Silas. The last thing that he saw before he fell into stasis, was a large shadow stretch over him. Then he slipped into darkness.

 _Two Earth hours later on the Nemesis_

Knock Out examined the ruby and sapphire mechling on his medbay berth. The mechling's age was the Cybertronian equivalent of human teenager's age of sixteen. His frame was an unnervingly look-alike to the vain medic's frame but instead of being entirely deep ruby red, the mechling's armor had some dark sapphire parts here and there, which reminded him of a certain femme two-wheeler's blue finish. And his faceplates painfully reminded Knock Out of the said two-wheeler he was once in love with and now was forced to fight. The mechling's crest even resembled the Decepticon CMO's, only with his once love's frontal crest and the lack of "elf ears" as Breakdown and the drones so _humorously_ called them.

Speaking of Breakdown, the blue Stunticon hadn't left the medbay since he had brought the mechling in. Despite his outer attitude and appearance, Breakdown had a soft spark for Cybertronian children of any age. Before becoming a Decepticon, the blue mech had another job he was excellent at besides construction and gladiatorial battles; sparkling care taker. No matter the age of the child, Breakdown always cared for them as tenderly as a heavily built bot like him could. Even when they were fighting the Autobots, Breakdown's morale and nurturing protocol instincts kept him from harming Team Prime's young scout.

So it was no surprise that when the ex-Wrecker came across the injured mechling being surrounded by M.E.C.H. soldiers, it made Breakdown snap. He already had a score to settle with the terrorist human organization for taking out his optic and causing him to get on Megatron's bad side. Seeing that they were about to take a wounded youth away to do Primus knows what to him was final straw for the blue Stunticon. Ordering the Eradicons that had been accompanying him on his scouting mission to follow his lead, they attacked the humans with no mercy.

Silas and his men may have been armed, but stood no chance against a group of five towering, advanced alien robots. Especially when the one they tortured was swinging his hammer at them in a fit of rage. To make a long story short; Silas was sent running empty handed…along with only a _less_ than half of his group remaining. Breakdown wasted no time in scooping up the mechling and sending coordinates for Soundwave to activate a groundbridge to while yelling for Knock Out to get the medbay ready.

Now two Earth hours later (Knock Out had no qualms about using human time vocabulary), the mechling was still in stasis. Whatever weapon M.E.C.H. had used on the adolescent newcomer had left a black scorch mark that had ran from the mechling's shoulder to his chassis. Thankfully the damaged area wasn't leaking life Energon and the injury was easy to fix and clean. No frayed interior components had been fried or damaged during the medical scans Knock Out performed. He did notice that the mechling had some irregular spark beats but he waved it off as the mechling being exhausted or stressed.

"Did you check if he has a fever?" Breakdown inquired, rest a large servo gently onto the mechling's forehelm.

The vain medic rolled his optics before replying, "Yes Breakdown, I did a thorough check and double check. There appears to be no other injuries or signs of a virus present. I did notice that he was low on Energon though. We'll have to give him some when he wakes up."

At the moment, the doors to the medbay opened to reveal none other than the leader of the Decepticons himself, followed by Airachnid, Soundwave, and a few drones. Had it been just the drones, Knock Out would have ordered them to leave until the patient was online. But this was Megatron, so unless the vain medic wanted a ruined paint job or worse, he was to tolerate his liege's presence despite normal medical regulations.

The Decepticon CMO and his partner stood respectfully and professionally as the former gladiator gazed upon the mechling's offline form. His gaze was hard but calm and slightly curious. The vain medic and the ex-Wrecker both tensed up as their leader outstretched his clawed servo towards the mechling only to relax and be in silent shock as the servo that had extinguished so many sparks gently came to rest on the mechling's helm.

After a few moments, Megatron spoke, "Has he shown signs of coming online?"

Knock Out responded with a negative shake of his head, "Not yet my liege. Though I am surprised that we came to this young mech's aid before the Autobots did."

Breakdown growled spitefully and protectively, "I'm not. When it comes down to their own, those Autoscum barely lift a digit unless the bot in need has something worth _giving_ to their so-called team. Even then they wouldn't think twice about abandoning that team mate if it meant saving their own hides."

Knock Out couldn't help but wince in a sympathetic way. Another reason that Breakdown became a Decepticon, besides the fact he was suitable to be a Combiner and believed in some of Megatron's views, but because not long after Breakdown join the Wreckers did he end up being left for dead on a mission. It was hard, devastating blow to the ex-Wrecker. A blow that left him bitter and hateful to the Autobots and their cause. Knock Out even doubted that Breakdown's recent rescue by Bulkhead's servos was enough to make up for the treachery all those millenias ago.

Megatron seemed to agree with Breakdown as he continued, "The Autobots are a greedy breed, no doubt due to the fact that many of them cannot let go of their corrupted upper caste upbringing."

It was then that Soudwave pointed at the monitors. Knock Out looked to see that the readings had changed. The spark beats had increased and the processor activity had gotten stronger. It was then that Knock Out realized what the Communications and Surveillance officer was trying to tell him.

"My lord, it appears that the patient is waking up," Knock Out stated quickly."

As soon as those words left the Decepticon CMO's mouth, a groan resonated from the mechling's own vocals. All five adult Decepticons looked down to see that the adolescent Cybertronian began to stir. Before anyone could react, Megatron removed the mechling's visor in a quick but precise motion. Instead of questioning their leader's sudden action, the other four peered down at the mechling alongside him.

 _Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte didn't know what to expect when he woke up. Tied up in a dark room with more M.E.C.H. soldiers surrounding him? Mostly. Being back with the Autobots? Less likely. Still drifting through space in the pod and finding out everything was a bad dream? Primus forbid. But never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine waking up to find five full-grown Decepticons staring at him as he laid there like a sitting petro-rabbit. The insignias on their chassis were the first things he saw, hence his figuring out what faction they were.

The Decepticon to his right was a full-grown mech grounder with a deep red paint job similar to Zettabyte's own red areas. The both even had the same frame and optic shape with optic brows. The only difference were their helms and faceplates. The red mech's face was more elegant (in Zettabyte's opinion) and was a pristine white color to match his servos. Not to mention that red mech lacked a crest on his top helm fin and had what looked to be small white audio finials poking out the back.

The Decepticon to his left was also a mech grounder but was more muscular than his red counterpart. This mech was a faded navy blue and looked to be bigger than Bulkhead. His faceplates were a dark shade of orange red. When Zettabyte saw the mech's optics, he almost let out a gasp of horror. Or rather _optic_. While the blue mech's left optic was a bright yellow (an unusual color for a Decepticon's optics), where the right optic should have been was black Cybertronian optic patch. Before the ruby and sapphire mechling could wonder exactly how the mech got such a injury, his gaze fell on another one of the three Con adults that stood at the end of his berth.

It was a femme, and like Arcee, seemed to be the only one in the group, though it was hard to tell whether she was a grounder or flier. However this femme looked more…roguish than Arcee. Feral even. She had a black, gold, and mauve finish that went well with her sharp features. Her helm had fiendish horn like structures on her helm and were as sharp looking as her clawed servos. Her deep violet lips were set in a thin line of neutrality, as were her mauve optics. As Zettabyte adjusted his optics, he saw that attached to the femme's back were long, spindly appendages that ended in dagger like points. Zettabyte' spark hammered in it' chamber as he turned to look at the other Con near the right side of his berth…and he felt himself freeze up.

Con was mainly black, gray, and indigo with some electric violet biolights. Zettabyte could tell that this Con was a mech by the frame structure but what made the mech shocking to ruby and sapphire mechling was the screen that stood in place of the mech's face. It was black, giving the impression of facelessness. The mech's helm had spikey protrusions on the forehelm area. His arms were so long that they almost touched the ground and had a flat look to them. The mech's chassis looked odd as well. It seemed to be detachable from the ruby and sapphire mechling's view.

He then turned his attention to the fifth and final Decepticon who seemed to have been lingering in shadowy area just a few inches from the end of the berth. Sensing that the ruby and sapphire mechling was now focusing his attention on him, the hidden Decepticon stepped forward. When Zettabyte saw the mech, he felt time stop around him.

The mech looked to be taller than even Optimus and was mainly silver with a few patches of dark violet in his seams and places of his inner protoform. Wicked, sharp-looking structures on the silver mech's shoulders gave him an ominous appearance and it didn't help that Zettabyte got a glimpse of powerful servos with sharp digits. The silver mech's helm was flat on top and it was slightly cylindrical. Finally, the last thing that Zettabyte noticed was the mech's bright scarlet optics. They seemed to bore into the ruby and sapphire mechling's spark. It didn't take long for Zettabyte to realize who he was staring at.

He was staring at Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons. The very same mech who he was talking about to the Autobots. Just then, Zettabyte noticed that all of their stares (except for the screen-faced mech) were stares of shock. And by the direct eye contact he had a dreadful feeling of what exactly they were staring at that caused their expressions. Reaching up to see if he still had the visor on, his spark sank as his digits felt nothing blocking them from his optic area.

It was then that the warlord spoke to him as he held the visor, "I see now why you where this visor."

Zettabyte bowed his helm in embarrassment as he spoke, "I just started wearing it today."

Megatron quirked an optic as he inquired, "Why? Who are you?"

 _Well they deserve to be told the truth. They have a right,_ Zettabyte told himself as he tried to swallow down the fear rising in his throat.

"My name is Zettabyte. My adoptive father was Sentinel Zeta Prime," the ruby and sapphire mechling stated with his head down. He didn't need to look up to see they were in shock.

Zettabyte then found the courage to continue, "I never agreed with his ideals. Not with the caste. Not with his bigotry towards fliers, seekers, and Vosnians. None of it. I hated going out and seeing lower caste bots be treated like they were either invisible or a pariah. I hated being with stuck up nobles who only cared about themselves and thought that our society at the time was perfect."

At this time, Zettabyte took the chance to look up. The red mech and blue mech's expressions were that of shock and what looked like pity. The femme had turned away from him but Zettabyte could see signs that she had her arms crossed. There was no need to look at the screen-faced mech. He saw that Megatron's face was still stoic but intrigued.

Zettabyte went on, now directing his words at the former gladiator, "I know what they say about Decepticons…but I don't believe it. Your faction did not start the war, it was the caste and the nobles. I'm sorry for what my adoptive father did to you and the other bots hurt by his Primus forsaken system and beliefs. They were the real victims. But I know my words mean nothing to you, to any of you. I can't change the damaged done by the system, just as my apology can't undo the trauma and losses you went through before and after you rose up against the nobles and the High Council. If you rid yourselves of my existence, I will not object or beg for mercy because I don't deserve it. Not when I came from the same environment as your past tormentors. If anything, see my banishment as a step towards compensation for your pain and tragedies."

By then the warlord was now staring at him in complete surprise. Zettabyte saw out of the corner of his optic that the blue mech's faceplates were set in an expression of horror and pleading that seemed to be aimed at the ex-gladiator. The ruby mech was tense in both his face and posture as he too looked at his leader, almost as if he was ready to jump to the ruby and sapphire mechling's aid. The femme still hadn't turned towards him and the screen-faced mech remained calmlywhere he stood.

What felt like megacycles but what was actually nano-kliks had passed before Megatron chose to speak.

"I see that you truly are different from the nobles I have come across in the past. And I see that you are far from proud of your upbringing by the servos of the mech who was responsible for the accursed caste. But do you wish to know what I also see?" the silver mech questioned.

The silver mech waited for Zettabyte to nod his helm be fore continuing.

"I see a mechling who is more open-minded and precocious than those around him. A mechling who is observant of who is guilty or not and who is to be blamed or praised. Your compassion and ethics supersedes the views that you were forced fed. You take responsibility even when the fault isn't truly yours," the warlord proclaimed.

The ruby red mech and the blue mech had both relaxed at this point but were staring at their leader in slight awe at how calm and civil he was speaking to the ruby and sapphire mechling. The femme had left just nano-kliks ago and the screen-faced mech had followed soon after.

As the silver mech turned towards the door, he said to Zettabyte, "Walk with me."

Zettabyte immediately got off the berth to follow the warlord, minding how the two mechs were making sure he didn't stumble or teeter as he stood up to follow the former gladiator.

"Easy," the blue mech said softly as he put one of his servos on the mechling's pack to balance him.

"Don't strain yourself," the ruby red mech chided.

Zettabyte nodded, "Thank you sirs."

The ruby red mech as he gestured to the blue mech smirked, "Thank Breakdown for that kid. He's the one who saved you from M.E.C.H."

The blue mech, Breakdown, grinned as he gestured to the ruby red mech, "And it was Knock Out here who fixed you up."

Zettabyte couldn't help but smile at their humorous trade back, "Well either way, thank you both. I hope to see you two again real soon."

With one wave goodbye, the ruby and sapphire exited the medbay and followed the Decepticon leader.

 _Third Person Perspective_

As the ruby and sapphire mechling and the silver mech walked through the halls, a few drones stopped and stared. Never before had they seen their leader so content to have such a young Cybertronian walking beside him. A few times their leader shot them a glare that demanded for them to stop looking and get on with their work to which they instantly obeyed.

Zettabyte paid no mind to the countless (and identical) on-lookers as the. He was too busy staring in awe at the vastness of the _Nemesis_. It was even larger than the _Haven_. As the ex-gladiator showed him around, the ruby and sapphire mechling found himself admiring not just the size of the ship but what it held. From its mess hall to its weapons storage room to the heavy drilling and mining equipment hidden in the larger areas, the ship was more than equipped for anything. When they entered the Command Center, Zettabyte's jaw joint fell open.

The Command Center was large enough to hold more than twenty bots and the floor window and large frontal window held a strange but amazing aesthetic look to the dark ship. Right above the Center's ceiling was a bright alight that glowed white and bright violet. The computer console on the Center's platform was well constructed than the one had had seen at the Autobot's base. And at that console was none other than Soundwave. The Communications and Surveillance Officer worked diligently at the console, not even realizing that his master and the new arrival had come in.

"Zettabyte meet my Third-In-Command and optics and audios, Soundwave," Megatron stated as he gestured to the tall, silent mech.

Bowing politely, Zettabyte spoke gently to the silent mech, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The silent mech's only response was nodding his helm ever so slightly that if Zettabyte had not been watching carefully, he would have missed it.

"Soundwave, like myself, was also a gladiator in the Pits of Kaon. Of course you probably already knew this, didn't you?" Megatron guessed.

Zettabyte nodded, "Yes. But may I ask you something that I'm not sure is true or not?"

Megatron nodded, looking curious, "What is it?"

Zettabyte carefully began to ask, "I heard that, like you, Soundwave had an occupation before being the gladiator. Is it true that Soundwave…use to be a music composer?"

Megatron's optics widened slightly, "I'm surprised anyone remembered."

Zettabyte looked at him in astonishment, "So it is true?"

Megatron nodded, "Soundwave's music was well-known and loved. Until the caste managed to rip that away from him."

Zettabyte winced in self-loathing. To think that while the nobles got to do useless things like shop for trinkets they didn't even need, lower caste bots were stripped of the right to do what they loved and what they were so talented at.

Megatron spoke again, "If you are aware of who my generals and I use to be, then you also must be aware of what we have done."

Zettabyte nodded gravely, "Yes but I think there's a reason behind what you did."

"Oh? What is the reason?" Megatron asked.

The ruby and sapphire mechling looked the silver warlord in the eyes, "What you do to your enemies…mirror what your tormentors and the nobles did to you and your fellow Decepticons before you fought back, am I correct?"

Megatron stared at him in shock before closing his optics and turning away, "More than you know."

Zettabyte felt guilt fill his spark. In that moment, he didn't see a warlord but a worn gladiator who had been through countless horrors and had seen one too many tragedies for one to handle alone.

"F-Forgive me for bringing up the past, sir," the ruby and sapphire mechling stuttered apologetically.

Megatron turned back to him, "It doesn't matter now."

Zettabyte couldn't keep himself from insisting, "Yes it does. You-"

Their conversation was interrupted when a small beep sounded from the console. Soundwave turns towards his master as he pointed to something on the screen. Megatron walked over to get a closer look at what his TIC had to show him. As he got a good look at the screen, the Decepticon leader blinked in interest.

"It appears that Soundwave has pulled up your file, Zettabyte," Megatron commented.

That caught the ruby and sapphire mechling's attention as he walked over to the console. Sure enough, he saw his file which included everything, even a small holo-scan of him in the upper left corner.

"Hmm, it says here that you are aiming to become a medic and scientist," Megatron proclaimed with a hint of fascination.

"Yes, I want to help those around me. Sadly, I never got the chance to be trained by a professional. I know a good amount of medical and scientific knowledge, but I never been given any real life, hands on training," Zettabyte explained.

Megatron looked in deep thought for a moment before turning to walk out of the Command Center.

"Follow me," he beckoned to the ruby and sapphire mechling.

Zettabyte obeyed as he started to once again follow the warlord. They passed several rooms and corridors before Megatron stopped at one particular door. This door was larger than the others and it looked to have been untouched for quite a few solar cycles. Megatron then put in the passcode to the lock-pad before pressing his servo against the plate. As the door opened, Zettabyte gaped in awe at what was inside.

The room was large and spacious, as was the berth. On the right side of the room was a work bench which still had quite a few tools strewn on top of it. On the left side were a couple of medium sized storage containers. Judging by the Cybertronian glyphs on them, Zettabyte realized that they most likely held parts for engineering projects, medical supplies, and lab equipment. The last thing that the ruby and sapphire mechling noticed were the walls. Each wall had three to five blue prints and scientific notes attached to them.

"Do like it?" the warlord questioned.

"I do! It feels more at home than the _Haven_ ever did!" Zettabyte exclaimed, unable to with held his excitement.

"Then it's yours," the ex-gladiator claimed.

Zettabyte twisted around to stare at the silver mech, "Y-You mean it?"

The Decepticon leader nodded.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Zettabyte murmured gratefully. For a moment, there was a peaceful serenity between the warlord and the ruby and sapphire mechling. However, the silence was broken by a loud churning that came from Zettabyte's tanks.

The young Cybertronian's face heated up in embarrasment as he looked apologetically at the ex-gladiator, "I'm sorry. I forgot that I haven't refueled."

"Then it's a good thing I found you two," came familiar voice.

Both Zettabyte and Megatron turned to see Knock Out walking standing in the hallway holding an electric blue cube. Behind him was Breakdown.

Stepping out of the room and taking the cube gently from Knock Out's servos, Zettabyte softly said, "Thank you."

Knock Out smiled as he explained to Megatron, "We just came to see how Zettabyte was doing, my liege."

Breakdown nodded as he fondled Zettabyte's helm, "It's not every day that we find a mechling being attacked by humans. Let alone M.E.C.H."

Zettabyte did not miss the toxic tone Breakdown had used when he said that last sentence. As he finished his Energon, he turned to the two mechs.

"You know them?" the young male Cybertronian inquired.

Knock Out snorted bitterly, "Know them? They captured Breakdown here and took out his optic while he was pinned down and online."

Zettabyte stared in horror and looked to the blue Stunticon for affirmation. The ex-Wrecker ran his servo over his patch while nodding shamefully., confirming Knock Out's words.

"B-But why?! What did we do to them?" Zettabyte questioned, shocked at what he was hearing."

"It's not what we did. It's what they want to use us for. They seek to dissect us to better understand how advanced our technology is to use it for their own weapons," Knock Out explained, his tone clearly directing hate at the human organization.

"How did you wind up confronting them anyway, kid?" Breakdown asked, trying to steer away from the topic of M.E.C.H.

Zettabyte once again bowed his helm as he explained, "The Autobots found me when I landed…but when I told them about how you were the ones who were wrong…and when they saw my optics…their green mech, Bulkhead,…chased me around and forced me out."

No sooner had Zettabyte finished his explanation did Breakdown growl out, "That slaghead! I know that Bulkhead is not the trusting type but that's no excuse for kicking out a young Cybertronian in need! Who does that scrap pile think he is?! Halogen?!"

Knock Out soothed his partner, "Easy Breakdown."

"And the other Autobots did nothing?" Megatron inquired, his voice brimming with a cold anger as well.

Zettabyte shrugged, "They were trying to stop him from chasing me away but I knew that they thought that my ideas were unrealistic too."

Megatron placed a clawed servo on Zettabyte's shoulder, "It's a good thing that we brought you here then. Zettabyte wishes to become a medic and scientist."

That caught Knock Out's attention as he glanced at Zettabyte who nodded shyly and humbly.

Megatron proceeded speaking, "We will not force him to be one of us. Nor will we ask him to consider. We understand how difficult it is to be betrayed by the faction you were once loyal to and how that destroyed trust is not quick to reassemble. Of course whether Zettabyte wishes to be trained by you, Knock Out, is solely up to him. But I wonder…if that's what you truly want right now, Zettabyte?"

The adolescent male Cybertronian looked at the warlord in confusion.

"I can sense that you wish to explore your new territory before settling in," Megatron clarified.

Zettabyte then nodded his helm bashfully as he turned to Knock Out, "It's just that the natives of the planets that the _Haven_ landed on knew of our war and didn't want our presence. But here, aside from M.E.C.H., these natives don't even know that there is life outside their solar system. I would be honored to be your student Knock Out sir, but I want to investigate this planet first, starting with this area."

To Zettabyte's surprise, the vain medic smiled and nodded before saying, "I felt the same way when I got here as well. I can wait."

Zettabyte smiled before he was handed a small device by Megatron. The device was a bit smaller than his servo and it was rectangular and was colored grey and violet. It had a small screen and a few buttons beneath the screen. The ruby and sapphire mechling looked up at the Decepticon leader for information on the device.

"This device will allow you to contact for help or back up. It also has a map of the Earth. Should you decide to see the rest of Earth, you may contact Soundwave and have him bridge you to that destination," the silver mech informed.

"I will keep it safe, thank you sir," Zettabyte said as he put it away in his subspace.

"Be sure to get an Earth vehicle mode quick. I'll say this, these humans have great aesthetic tastes when it comes to how they design their vehicles," Knock Out added making the ruby and sapphire mechling smile.

C'mon kid. I'll walk you off the ship," Breakdown offered as he began walking with Zettabyte.

None of the three mechs saw the mechling's optics turn neon green for a moment.

 _A few Earth minutes later_

Megatron watched from the Command Center window as Zettabyte drove off through the desert in the night. His focus on the mechling's disappearing form was interrupted by the clinking of metallic spider legs greeted his audios. He didn't need to look to know who it was.

Airachnid walked up to stand next to her leader, her optics also becoming glued to the area where Zettabyte disappeared from. Nano-kliks passed before she spoke up.

"I heard you gave him one of Soundwave's little bridge beepers," she claimed, voice as cool as stone.

"And what of it?" Megatron couldn't help but pry.

"You put a tracker in it, didn't you?" the dark femme questioned, seeming a bit too eager to know the answer.

Megatron waited a moment before replying, "No…not this time."

"Why? Is he not a personal gain to you?" Airachnid asked, obviously more than displeased by her liege's answer.

" _Only_ partially. I see something…more in him," the silver mech answered in a tone that meant she would get no more answers out of him.

At that moment, Breakdown entered, "Hey Airachnid, that kid asked me to tell you hello and goodbye before he left. That was sweet of him, wasn't it?"

The spider-like femme's didn't respond as she quickly left the Center, avoiding optic contact with the ex-Wrecker.

"What did I say?" Breakdown asked, slightly confused and guilty.

All he got was silence.

I told you guys: OOCness. Don't worry, next chapter will get into the Danny Phantom crossover/parody. As I said before haters and flamers will be burned. And Zettabyte was describing Silas' flesh, hair, ears, and nose in case you didn't understand.

Until next time, Happy Reading;D


	4. Chapter 4: New Goth On the Block

Chapter 4: New Goth On the Block

All Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. I own nothing but my OCs, Sasha and her family, Adalia, Colette, Zettabyte, and the ideas for the last names of some of the characters who lack them. Don't wanna read it, hit the back button. For the others, read on.

Warnings: Mentioned of under-aged alcohol use (not by the hands of the OCs or main characters), violence (human and Cybertronian), slight sexual content, and Cybertronian cursing.

Burial Ceremony-Cybertronian funeral **Ha-** talking though the phone

 _Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha Morgan groaned as she pushed her long pitch black hair out of her violet eyes while she rode down the almost empty streets of the small town of Jasper. She kept her grip tight on the handles of her lavender and silver electric bike. The Sun, which had still been hiding beneath the horizon when she woke up, was now slowly nearing the center of the sky.

"I knew I should have put my hair up today," she growled in annoyance as she once again had to push black strands away from her pale face, her lavender helmet doing little to keep her charcoal-colored mane from whipping her cheeks.

It had been four days since she arrived in Jasper. The small suburb was a strong change of environment from the large city of New York that she had been raised in. No towering skyscrapers. No busy sidewalks. And no noisy, exhaust spewing buses, cars, or taxis. It wasn't so bad actually. The only problem was the lack of friends and family.

Just last Thursday she had been hanging with her two only friends, Chip and Raoul, at the skate park, listening to music and sipping grape soda while enjoying the last few days of their summer break. Now here she was, with no friends to walk or ride with her as she made her way to her first day of tenth grade. Anger burned in her as she thought of the troublemakers whose actions placed her in this situation.

 _I was just defending Chip! It's not my fault that thugs like those guys only understand the language of violence!_ Sasha vented in her mind angrily.

What was meant as a good intention had been rewarded with what felt like a punishment. The raven haired teen knew her parents were just trying to protect her but this method of sending her away felt…unfair. It wasn't like she was showing off for a gang initiation. She only meant to protect someone she cared about. Wasn't that why they had her take those self-defense classes so long ago? To use if she needed to protect herself or those she cared for?

The only sense of satisfaction she got was that the ones who tried to hurt Chip had been shown justice. That was also the reason she was just attending school today, on a Friday. Despite the proof that one of the other occupants of the skate park had caught on their phone, she and her friends were still required to go to court. Of course that disrupted her parents' plans to send her to Jasper before school started. At least her Uncle Ted and Aunt Lizzie had been kind enough to settle her in and show her around before leaving the last night to travel around for a few months.

With their own three children out of the house and at college, the two adults had planned to leave home to see the world. It wasn't that they didn't love Sasha, but when you have more free time than you know what to do with and a chance to go places you haven't before, you don't just trade that in to look after your niece just as your children have left the nest. And Sasha, despite her young age, was a very responsible and independent young lady. However, they couldn't just leave her alone. That's when they came up with a plan.

Her aunt and uncle's neighbors, Nora and Patrick Sanderson, lived close by enough to check on the fair skinned girl. Should they be busy with the foreign exchange student (Sasha couldn't recall her name) that they were hosting, the Sandersons could always call Sofia, the retired maid who use to work for her aunt and uncle, to check on Sasha. Once the negotiation was approved by her parents, the violet-eyed teen was sent off, but not without saying good-bye and securing some things.

By "some things," she meant storing all the stuff that she couldn't bring with her to Jasper in the storage unit that her grandmother had set up for her the day after the skate park incident. Sasha was a Goth, and a nature-loving one at that. While her grandparents and father never minded her love for anything that involved the environment or the dark, her mother wasn't very keen on the lifestyle that her daughter chose for herself. As paranoid and distrustful as it sounded, Sasha didn't trust her mother to not mess with her room while she was away.

 _She can paint the walls any shade of pink or whatever "lady-like" color she wants. She's not going to change who I am,_ Sasha told herself firmly. Being who she wanted to be was a strong lesson taught to her by both her grandmother and late grandfather. At the thought of the latter person, she felt tears sting her lilac eyes but she blinked them away fiercely. He would not want her to cry and be saddened by her situation. No, Noah Morgan, her late grandfather, would tell her to see it as an adventure. To accept the challenges that this new adventure presented. To be brave and to think of the positive side.

Feeling a renewed sense of encouragement, she allowed herself to smile a bit as she arrived at her destination. Stopping her bike, getting off, and removing her helmet and looked up at the building that she had only been to once to be given a tour and her transcript.

"Hello Memorial High School," she breathed.

 _Jack's Perspective_

Jack did not know what was going on with the bots.

That morning, as he was riding Arcee to school, he could tell something was wrong. Jack could feel her armor taut as he sat on her seat, a sign that she was tense or aggravated about something. And the aura she emitted was dripping barely concealed anger. The onyx-haired boy had considered asking her but thought better of it. She was obviously in NO mood to talk and needed time to cool down. Jack would give her that time and her mood didn't change, he would try confronting her.

Though he did get a clue when they arrived at school. Raf was already there but Bumblebee had already left. Jack found that strange as the yellow scout would usually stay until the bell rang for his charge to get to class. Miko and Bulkhead were also there, the former already sketching in her notebook while the latter remained where he was. Once it again, Jack found it unusual as the green Wrecker would often be gone if his other team mates weren't present when he dropped off his charge. It was almost as if the buffer Autobot was waiting for someone.

Jack was proven correct as Bulkhead drove forward towards the blue two-wheeler just as Jack got off her seat.

Bulkhead began speaking , "Arcee, -"

Whatever the Wrecker had to say, the dark sapphire colored femme would not hear any of it. She made this quite clear by ferociously backing up before doing a 180 turn and speeding away, leaving some skid marks and a cloud of dust in her wake. Jack stared after his guardian in shock before turning to stare at Bulkhead. The moss-green mech may have been in vehicle form but Jack could sense his aggravation as he watched Miko's guardian drive away. Of course he didn't miss the looks of shock, confusion, and worry that plastered onto the other two teens' (well pre-teen in Raf's case) as they saw what had transpired. They stayed there until the bell rang.

This leads to where Jack and his friends are now; class. Biology class to exact. However, none of the three human youths could forget what they had witnessed between two of their Autobot friends. Raf focused on reading the chapter that the class would be discussing that day, Miko tapped rested her chin in one hand while her other hand tapped the desk, and Jack just stared at the window. His brain was still trying to process what he had seen.

Despite their different personalities, Arcee and Bulkhead always managed (mostly) to get along with each other, much like their charges. Even when the two Autobots had disputes, they always communicated as a team. And never did they see either bot spurn each other just as one was about to talk. It was actually a little frightening to see this animosity between the two metal titans in disguise. Finally, Jack couldn't keep his curiosity in.

Turning to his two friends and speaking in a tone so only they could hear him, he asked, "Did Bulkhead or Bee say anything to either of you this morning?"

Miko shook her head as she replied, "Trust me, if I knew I were tell you guys."

Raf adjusted his glasses nervously before confessing, "Bee told me a little bit."

The two teens looked at their younger companion, urging him to tell them what they didn't know.

Raf explained, "Bee told me that last night, Bulkhead…did something that cost them a would have been teammate…and now everybody is angry. That's all he told me."

Miko's mouth was gaped open before she shut it and muttered, "It couldn't have been _that_ bad."

Jack found himself unable to give an opinion as he was surprised and confused. Had another Autobot attempted to come to Earth? If so, what could Bulkhead have done to cost them a team mate? Perhaps it was a defecting Decepticon. That could have been a reason for the moss colored Wrecker to possibly drive the unknown bot away. But then why was Arcee so angry? Surely she would not be this upset if this would have been teammate was a Con drifting from his brethren.

Before the onyx-haired boy could ponder on it any longer, the bell rung and he watched as the biology teacher, Mr. Parker, entered the room. Mr. Parker was a middle-aged man with fawn-colored hair that had a few grayish-white whisps in it and blue eyes that were always bright with enthusiasm. He had a bit of a pot belly often wore jeans, loafers, and collared shirts. He was well-liked for his fun projects and lessons.

Speaking in a booming but friendly voice, he said, "Class before I begin today's class, I would like you all to meet our new student, Sasha Morgan."

It was then that Jack noticed the girl who stood beside him. She was about Miko's height, if a bit taller. Her skin was pale and deeply contrasted with her pitch black mane that went more than a few inches past her shoulders. Her eyes were a purplish violet, a rare color, and as Jack squinted his eyes, he could see that there were rings of blue near the pupils. They were definitely NOT contacts. The only make up she wore was black lipstick. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a purple Spanish skull in the middle that had accents of neon green and aqua blue, a red plaid skirt that reached down to her knees, and black rubber combat boots with long black socks peeking out. Her backpack was a deep plum color and had a spider motif. By the way Miko fidgeted, Jack knew that the new arrival's school bag was making the Asian girl's arachnophobia was acting up.

Something about Sasha' last name sounded familiar. Just as Jack was about to raise his hand, the obnoxious voice of Vince rose up from the back.

"Morgan? Like Chrissie, Ruby, and Jeremy Morgan?" the red-headed bully inquired, voice too curious for Jack's taste.

That's when the onyx-haired boy realized that's exactly why the last name sounded so familiar. Ruby, Jeremy, and Chrissie Morgan were siblings that had gone to Memorial High together. All three had been born a year apart with Jeremy being the eldest and Chrissie being the youngest. Their father came from the wealthy Morgan family that owned the chain of auto shops, all called _Morgan's Modest Auto Shop_. Their father, Ted, worked at the auto shop as a way of income and to show devotion to his family's business. Their mother, Elizabeth or "Lizzie", was both a homemaker and a creative woman. She made countless decorations in any form she could which she sold to the people in town or to customers online.

Despite their rich heritage, the three Morgan siblings had been very good-natured and considerate students and each had their own interests; Jeremy with baseball, Ruby with the violin, and Chrissie with her interest in anthropology. All the students present in Mr. Parker's classroom only knew Jeremy from seeing him in town and watching his games, as he already gone off to college by the time they entered ninth grade. His sisters were a different matter; Chrissie was a social butterfly while Ruby was a loner with only one or two friends. Both were friendly and hard-working young ladies who graduated; Ruby, two years ago and Chrissie, one year ago.

Miko leaned over to Jack and whispered, "I heard of her. My host parents told me about her last night. Asking me to help her if she needed it and to be nice to her."

Sasha just nodded coolly to the class, "Yes. They're my older cousins."

"Perhaps, Sasha would like to share some more about herself instead of any family that came to this school, wouldn't you Sasha?" Mr. Parker inquired gently while shooting one of his rare stern glances at the class.

The raven-haired girl smiled gratefully at her teacher before speaking in a calm and civil voice, "Well I was born and raised in New York-"

"The Big Apple?!" a boy in the back exclaimed.

"Pete, need I remind you that we keep silent when someone is talking to the class?" the biology teacher spoke, shooting the boy glare.

Sasha continued, "Thank you Mr. Parker. So I was sent here by my parents to get away from the thugs in New York. As you can see, I'm a Goth. NOT an emo. I also don't eat meat. I care for the environment. I'll probably be staying here until late spring. And NO, I won't lend money to anyone. If anyone says that my cousins did otherwise, then I'll know you're lying. My aunt and uncle taught them better than that."

Mr. Parker nodded in approval, "Now Sasha, why don't you have a seat in the front."

Sasha obeyed, taking a seat in the front, just a few seats from Isabella and Sierra, eyes glued to the board as the lesson began. She was unaware of the three kids behind her who continued to sneak a glance or two every few minutes.

 _Four and a half hours later; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha sighed as she sat down on a lone table in the cafeteria and pulled out her purple and black lunch tote.

She had focused on her classes throughout until the mid-morning break. Not feeling ready for socializing just yet, she went to the library to relax and read in the corner. The nature-loving Goth had also taken the time to check her phone to see what her grandmother and friends were up to. Her grandmother had e-mailed her, saying that she would be attending a block party with her parents that night and wouldn't be able to web chat with her. Raoul was accompanying Chip to the birthday party that Chip's parents were throwing for his grandmother and would also be unable to web chat. She couldn't help but feel a little abandoned.

 _I shouldn't be bummed out. I should be happy that they're still having a good time_ , she thought to herself, pushing the loneliness down as she took out her lunch.

While her aunt and uncle weren't strict vegetarian/vegan like she was, they were health conscious. Her grandmother had e-mailed them a list of foods to buy for Sasha, which they obliged with no complaint. She even was given some vegetarian and vegan recipes to make by her Aunt Lizzie. She took out a Tupperware bowl of edamame, peas, carrots, and rice, a tofu, red pepper and avocado wrap with dark green veggies, mixed fruit with unsalted nuts for crunch, two Quaker Chewy S'mores Granola bars, homemade peanut butter cookies, and a can of lemonade.

Just as she started digging into her meatless lunch, a shadow fell across her table. Looking up Sasha wanted to groan in disgust. It was that Vince guy.

Smiling in a way that seemed crossed between flirtatious and forced friendliness, the red-head spoke, "Hey there. Whatcha eating?"

Rolling her eyes, Sasha said in an annoyed tone, "Well if you had been listening when I talked in class, you would know I don't eat meat. Hence all of this is either has fruit, grain, veggies, nuts, or peanuts."

Vince didn't seem to care, just nodding his head as he spoke in a disgustingly sweet tone, "Cool, cool. Listen I need to ask a favor. A friend of mine who's throwing a party this weekend and he needs me to buy booze. Problem is that my ID is expired so I was thinking-"

Sasha interrupted him with a snarl, "So you were thinking you would just walk over here and ask me to buy alcohol for you? That way, when you get caught driving drunk by the cops you can throw me under the bus, right?!"

"W-What?! N-No! I-I was just-," Vince stuttered, seeming to be startled by the raven-haired girl's sudden aggravation.

But Sasha wasn't done as she continued her verbal assault, "Just what? Thinking that just because I'm a Goth that I'm careless enough to help jerks like you get drunk or get others drunk enough so they can get alcohol poisoning or drive and end up killing someone or themselves?! Well you thought wrong. Now. Leave. Me. Alone."

Vince regained his composure and snarled at her, "Who do you think you are, you little-"

"Is there a problem here?"

Both Goth and bully turned to look at the one who intercepted the argument. The teen who had intervened was African American and looked to be sixteen. His black hair was shaved close to his head and his dark brown eyes narrowed dangerously at the red-head. He wore a dark orange jacket over a white shirt with dark blue jeans and pale tawny colored sneakers.

"Back off Sawyer. This is not of your business," Vince snapped.

The teen, Sawyer, just glowered and said coldly, "It is my business when you're hassling someone who obviously doesn't want to listen to whatever it is you have to say. Now I believe she was asking you to leave her alone."

The red-headed ruffian teen stood his ground.

Sawyer scowled, "Beat it. Now. Or I'll tell Adalia to send the video recording of the littleconversation you were having with the new girl to the principal."

For emphasis, Sawyer pointed at thumb at another table. Sitting at it were two girls who were also glaring at Vince. Both looked fifteen like Sasha. One had green-blue eyes with long, wavy, deep auburn hair and fair skin. She was wearing a red flutter-sleeve blouse and pale blue denims. The other girl looked to be of Hispanic heritage, as she had darkened skin, dark chestnut brown hair, and eyes the color of warm chocolate. She had on a lavender chiffon vest top and white capris. The Hispanic girl was holding up a phone, aiming it at Vince with a smug smirk.

Vince looked between them and Sawyer before growling, "This isn't over."

As the red head stomped away, Sawyer walked up to Sasha, "You okay?"

Sasha felt something flutter in her chest but she ignored it as she smiled gratefully, "Yeah thanks."

Sawyer smiled, "Don't mention it. And don't worry about Vince. He's just asking for trouble. I'm surprised that the school hasn't expelled him yet."

"They're probably waiting for karma to get him to him first," Sasha laughed.

Sawyer snorted, "Oh I'd love to be a fly on the wall when that happens."

"The same goes for us," the Hispanic girl said with a slight Spanish accent as she and her auburn-haired friend came up to Sasha.

The auburn-haired girl snickered with a bit of a French accent, "That has got to be the first time I've ever seen Vince be taken off guard by someone's retort."

Sasha laughed, her smile turning into a widespread grin, "Thanks."

"I'm Colette by the way. Colette LaChance," the auburn-haired girl stated as she shook the Goth's hand.

The Hispanic girl was next, "I'm Adalia Gonzalez. Feel free to call me Addie."

Sawyer then officially introduced himself, "And I'm Sawyer Storm."

"I'm Sasha Morgan. You probably knew my cousins," she proclaimed politely.

Sawyer nodded, "Your cousins were awesome people. But we wanna get to know you."

Colette nodded eagerly, "Yes. We heard that they have several cousins but we never thought we meet one of them."

Adalia grinned in encouragement, " C'mon chica, tell us all about yourself."

Sasha felt her spirits brighten. Looks like she would have a nice time here in Jasper after all. But unnoticed to the four teens, a certain foreign exchange student had been watching and listening from behind the cafeteria doors.

 _Two hours later; Third Person's Perspective_

"You dudes should have seen it! Sasha totally told Vince off!" Miko chirped to her two friends as they were preparing to head to their last class of the day.

It had been a few hours since the rebellious exchange student had seen Sasha go off on the red-headed terror. Granted, she had seen a few students snap at Vince but never did they have the same ferocity and sense of moral as Sasha had. To say that the metal music lover was impressed was an understatement.

Raf smiled a bit, fixing his grip on his backpack as spoke, "I'm not surprised. She is the cousin of Ruby and Chrissie."

"Yeah, those two had a way with guys like Vince that didn't take no for an answer," Jack snickered as he remembered one example.

It had happened last fall, with Chrissie being a senior and Vince a sophomore. He had made a bet with his crony friends that he could get a senior to go with him to the Fall Formal. His target had been the youngest Morgan child herself. Unfortunately, Vince's idea of "asking" was grabbing Chrissie's behind and asking her if she would like to have it "broken in" after he took her to the dance. Unfortunate for Vince that is.

Chrissie's response had been grabbing his manhood in a death grip and growling, "Do that to me again, and I'll pluck grapes. Or raisins in your case. Got that?"

Vince had nodded with a whimper before she let him go so he could curl on the floor in pain. Suffice to say, Vince lost that bet and didn't go to the dance.

"Hey, I got an idea! I should bring Sasha to the monster truck rally this evening!" Miko said grinning. However, Jack and Raf didn't share her enthusiasm.

The onyx-haired boy rubbed the back of his head as he spoke, "I don't know about _that_ Miko. A monster truck rally isn't really a Goth thing. Sasha may not like it."

"Plus with all the exhaust that those monster trucks release makes it the _exact_ opposite of what nature lovers call a good time," the computer prodigy put in sheepishly.

However, Miko only disagreed as she continued, "Please. Anyone with enough guts to stand up to Vince will love a hard core event like monster trucks."

Raf was about to continue dissuading his female friend when Jack placed a hand on his shoulder with a defeated shake of his head. The older boy knew better to disagree with their foreign classmate when she was this determined. The two could only hope that Miko didn't do anything drastic.

 _Forty-five minutes later; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha stuffed her books into her backpack as the bell ceased its ring that signaled the end of the day. Unsurprisingly, the rest of her peers had already exited the class. Obviously they wanted to be out of the building as quick as possible to start their weekend plans. Just as she was finishing putting away her materials, she saw a pair of pale tawny sneakers in the corner of eye.

Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, Sasha smiled at her friend, "Hey Sawyer. What's up?"

Sawyer grinned at her, "Hey. The girls and I were talking and we wanted to know if you would like to watch that new thriller movie, _The Gift_ , tomorrow night?"

Grinning excitedly, Sasha nodded, "I'd love to."

"Great! Do you think you can give me your address so I know we know where to pick you up?" Sawyer asked, having a delighted expression himself.

The Goth nodded as she took a scrap of paper and a pencil from the front pocket of her backpack and scribbled down the address before handing it to her friend, "There you go."

Sawyer took it, nodding, "Hey do you need me to drive you home?"

Sasha shook her head as she responded politely, "No thanks, I got my bike. Maybe another time."

Nodding in understanding, Sawyer smiled, "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Sasha grinned and nodded as she headed out the class door first while giving him one last, short wave goodbye. Before leaving, she made her way over her locker to get the other books that she would need for the homework from other classes. As she twisted the combination and opened her locker, something slipped out and fluttered to the floor. Reaching down to pick it up, she realized it was an envelope.

It was made of recycled paper that was colored bright green and sky blue. It had "To: Sasha" written in black marker and had been sealed with a sticker that had the recycle symbol on it. The Goth felt a strong need to open it but decided to wait until she was home. Slipping the envelope into her book bag, Sasha double checked to make sure she had all the books she needed before closing her locker and making her way to the front of the school. Making it past the crowd of students still lingering, Sasha made it out the front doors and descended down the stairs. However, she noticed something strange.

Parked at the curb were three vehicles that she hadn't see there when she arrived to school. There was a golden yellow and black muscle car, a dark sapphire motorcycle with pink highlights, and a strong looking , moss-colored SUV. What was even more peculiar was the way they were parked. The muscle car and motorcycle were spaced a good two or so meters from the SUV. Almost as if their owners wanted to be as far from the SUV as possible. Shrugging it off as just awkward parking, Sasha continued her way towards where she locked her bike.

When she saw her bike, she stopped. Something was off about her bike. It was leaning against the side of the rack she had locked it in and it seemed to have lowered closer to the ground. That's when she saw the tires. They looked to be squished at the bottom and slightly saggy. And that's when she realized that they were flat. A closer inspection revealed that someone had let the air out of them.

Sasha growled, "Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

 _Third Person Perspective_

The three kids jumped as they turned to look at the Goth. All three had just been in the middle of getting into (onto in Jack's case) their guardians' alt. modes when their new classmate let out a yell of anger. Looking in her direction, they saw that she was examining her electric bike's tires with a look of aggravation. The three high school students shared swapped looks of silent agreement with each other before heading over.

Raf was the first to ask, "Is everything okay?"

Getting up from the ground, Sasha huffed, "Someone let the air out of my tires. And I think I know who."

"Vince," Jack concluded with a growl. The red-headed menace was known for doing cruel things when he didn't get what he wanted but that didn't make them justifiable.

"You're not the first, girl," Miko stated calmly.

"And you won't be the last," Raf added as gently.

Sasha sighed as she looked at her bike, "I didn't even bring my bike pump with me, so I can't inflate them."

"If you want, I can take it back to my place to inflate it and then you can come get it," Jack offered kindly.

Sasha looked at him curiously, "I would like that but what about that motorcycle you were about to get on?"

Jack froze for a moment before trying to stutter out a response, "W-Well, you see uh-"

"What Jack meant is that my friend in the yellow muscle car will let us put your bike in his backseat so we can transport it to Jack's house," Raf spoke up immediately.

The onyx-haired boy nodded quickly, "Yes! Exactly what I was going to say."

Sasha stared at them for a moment before smiling, "Thanks. I'm Sasha."

"I'm Jack," Jack said, nodding with a smile.

"I'm Raf," the smaller boy said politely.

"Miko. You've probably met my host parents, the Sandersons," Miko stated, her voice rich with eagerness.

Sasha felt something click in the back of her head, "Oh yeah, now I remember! You're the foreign exchange student they've taken in."

Miko smirked, "So they did mention me."

"They told me your name," Sasha said, leaving out the part where it looked like they were holding back winces.

"You could hitch a ride with me. My friend will drive us home and your house is just a few feet away. My host mom did say to help you if you needed it and this looks like the right time," Miko said as Jack and Raf were already hauling her bike into the muscle car.

Seeing no other options, Sasha shrugged, "Okay. Thanks."

Miko grinned, "No problem. I'll just go talk to my friend."

Sasha nodded, not seeing the winces of concern the boys exchanged as Miko gave them a wink.

 _Elsewhere; Third Person Perspective_

Zettabyte was not having a good day at all.

The night before, after leaving the Nemesis, he had driven until he came across an old, abandoned gas station. However, his recharge was not a pleasant one. The chilly desert night and fear of being found by Bulkhead caused him to wake up every time he was just settling into recharge, only to wake up shivering or nearly having a spark attack when a Earth vehicle passed by. As a result, he hardly got any rest. He now regretted not staying on the _Nemesis_ to get use to his new berthroom.

On top of that he still had yet to find an Earth alt. mode to scan. Most of the vehicles that passed him were either gaudy muscle cars or dull-looking pick-up trucks. He didn't want to look like those punk, rebellious students on the _Haven_ , but there was no way he was going to scan a vehicle that looked like something that was only meant for loading and delivery.

"This is hopeless," Zettabyte sighed in slight annoyance. He had been hiding behind the gas station for a good chunk of the day, only peeking out to see the passing vehicles. Sadly, none of them were anything interesting.

He had considered following them in hopes of finding better vehicles but thought better of it. With his Cybertronian vehicle alt. mode, he was sure to stick out. And if Silas or a M.E.C.H. soldier didn't spot him, a human civilian would. Remembering Optimus' warnings and recalling his own experience with foreign species, the ruby and sapphire mechling felt unsafe. He thought about contacting Soundwave so he could ask Breakdown or one of the drones for help but that idea seemed too…needy. He didn't want the Cons, or any Cybertronian for that matter, to think he was overly dependent. Just as he was about to cut his losses and drive back out onto the desert, he saw something.

A bisarca had stopped just a few a few meters from the gas station. Zettabyte heard the sound of a car door open and slam shut as a burly man walked to the front of the large transporter and began wiping the grill with an old rag.

"Darn bugs," the man hissed as he tried to rid his truck's grill of the dead insects.

Zettabyte paid no mind to what the man said, his focus on the bisarca. He didn't care for the cars on it as they too didn't look right for him. He was staring at the single space near the end of the first level on the transporter truck. It was just big enough for him in his alt. mode form. Perhaps this transport could take him to an area with more vehicle options. Feeling firm with his decision he quickly transformed and drove onto the spot.

He froze as the driver said loud enough so he could hear, "What?"

Zettabyte exhaled a sigh of relief as the man laughed a bit and said, "The heat's getting to me. I've earned a cold drink when I get into town."

The man soon entered the trunk and drove on unaware of the extra-terrestrial stowaway he harbored.

 _Meanwhile; Sasha's Perspective_

To say Sasha was upset was an understatement. She. Was. _Furious._

It had all started when she had gotten into the SUV. She hadn't looked up at Miko's so-called "friend." The big, muscular arms that could snap necks with ease made her too uneasy and distrustful to even say hello. She had been so deep in thought about how much she wanted to strangle Vince that she hadn't notice Miko's gigantic grin. Nor had she noticed that the direction they were driving in was NOT going towards her house.

When they stopped, she had finally taken notice of their surroundings. What greeted her sight was far from pleasant. They were in a large parking lot of an even larger stadium. The scent of exhaust, smoke, and burnt rubber was so thick, it was suffocating. Far off in a second parking lot, the raven-haired Goth could see a separate parking lot filled with rugged-looking vehicles with monstrously giant tires. One look at the dirty, sign with the name _Monster Truck Rumble Stadium_ confirmed what she feared. She was at a freakin' monster truck show.

And judging by the look of pure glee that Miko was directing at her, Sasha knew that the Asian girl had meant to bring her here.

"Are you kidding me right now?!" Sasha snapped.

The punkish girl didn't seem to hear as she hopped out of her seat and grinned, "Isn't awesome?"

Sasha couldn't believe this girl. No wonder the Sandersons had looked so uncomfortable when they mentioned the foreign child. She was a total liar! How dare she trick her into coming here?! Sasha despised monster trucks for two reasons. One, of course, was the fact that they polluted the air with their noxious fumes from their tailpipes and mufflers. Then there was the car crushing issue. She may have not have been a big car fanatic as her great-grandfather had but she had some good vehicle knowledge. Like how the old, worn cars being used for crushing could be taken apart for any components that other cars might need instead. And a good portion of the cars that were old but still intact and working could be spruced up to look and work like new. Basically, to Sasha, monster trucks were an insult to the environment and to her family's business.

"It is NOT cool! I HATE monster trucks! What makes you think I would want to come to the show about them?" Sasha growled, obviously angry.

"I just thought that you would like to see something real awesome," Miko shrugged, smile having lessened a bit but not by much.

"Well I DON'T think this is awesome! It's the opposite of awesome to me! Tell your friend to take me home, I-," Sasha was interrupted by the roar of the moss-colored SUV's engine. She twisted her head to see her only option for transportation take off and leave the parking lot in a matter of seconds. The Goth noticed that Miko looked a bit put off.

The look didn't last long as Miko grabbed her arm and dragged her to the stadium, giddily saying, "Monster trucks here we come!"

Sasha felt nothing but annoyance and dislike for the Asian girl as she was pulled towards the stadium.

 _Two Earth hours later in the far part of the desert; Breakdown's Perspective_

Breakdown watched as the Vehicons sliced the Energon crystals before hauling them into large Cybertronian mine carts that were to be picked up by more Vehicons from the Nemesis. It was a moderate amount of Energon that was still sure to boost their stocks up quite a bit. But Breakdown's thoughts weren't on the Energon or the work of the drones. It was on Zettabyte.

Thinking back now, the Stunticon had wished that he, or someone else, had encouraged the mechling to stay. The poor kid was still new to this planet and its ways. He didn't even have an Earth vehicle alt. mode yet. Worry crept around in Breakdown's processor. Did Zettabyte manage to find a vehicle to scan? Was he safe? Or was he in the clutches of the enemy? The ex-Wrecker's thoughts suddenly became angry as he remembered that the ruby and sapphire mechling told them that Bulkhead chased him out.

It made Breakdown's Energon boil at the idea that his former friend had been so cruel to such a gentle kid. Yes the fact that Zettabyte had been raised by Sentinel was a shocker but the kid was nothing like his adoptive sire. The way he spoke to the Decepticons and their leader was respectful and his mismatched optics had a look of kindness. The mechling didn't see his saviors as a threat but as equals. The one-eyed brawler just couldn't comprehend how his ex-teammate could act so aggressively towards the mechling.

 _Sounds like Bulk-for-Brains is defying his leader's ethics_ , Breakdown thought sourly.

It wasn't the first time that an Autobot turned their backs on the morals that Optimus had tried to influence his faction with. Some Autobots had thought of their leader as too soft and would break some of the codes he established, resulting in them being killed by the enemy, punished by a superior, or cast out by their own faction. Breakdown felt no pity for those mechs and femmes. Nor did he, or any other Decepticon, took the opportunity to try to goad the bot to come to their side. The Stunticon had no doubt that Bulkhead, if continuing with his attitude towards Zettabyte, would meet the one of those fates like those bots. The former Wrecker's thoughts were interrupted as his comm. link beeped, signaling that he was being messaged.

Pressing two digits to the side of his helm, Breakdown answered, "Breakdown here."

[Breakdown, it's Knock Out. Soundwave just picked up a lone Autobot signal heading your way. If the Autobots discover our little mining party, they'll barge in and steal our Energon,] Knock Out proclaimed through the link.

Breakdown felt a rush of anger, as he growled, "Not if I lure them away and give them a good beat down."

Knock Out snickered over the link, [Tell me how it went when it's over.]

"Got it," Breakdown confirmed before ending the comm. and transforming before driving off, shouting a "I'll be right back" to the Eradicons guarding the area. He was only hoping for two things; that the Autobot wasn't the scout and that it was Bulkhead.

 _Near the area around the town; Bulkhead's Perspective_

Bulkhead didn't think, that when he came online that morning, that his day would be so rotten. Less than okay maybe, due to the harsh lecturing that Optimus gave him the night before, but not totally terrible.

Upon coming out of his berthroom, Bulkhead discovered that everyone else had been awake before him. Bumblebee had left to take Raf to school but Arcee was still having her morning Energon, optics focused hard on her cube as if she was having a silent, heated debate with it. Optimus and Ratchet were watching the console quietly together.

Everything seemed fine until he had greeted them all in a large baritone voice, "Morning!"

Only the medic and Prime had turned to nod at him. The dark sapphire and pink femme, however, just tightened her grip on her cube harder without looking up. The moss-colored mech had tried to start a conversation with her, but she remained silent up until he went to go take Miko to school. Bulkhead had tried not to be offended when he discovered that Bee had already left after leaving his charge at the front of the school. He wasn't expecting her to abruptly drive off as soon as she dropped Jack off. That's when he started to get annoyed.

It was one thing for his teammates to still be angry at him, but to show it openly where the kids could see it. That was just humiliating for him. He felt like a juvenile mechling who was being given the silent treatment by a femmenet he liked in front of a group of classmates he wanted to impress. Now here he was; doing patrol alone. Bee was staying at base to help Ratchet with something, Optimus had gone to speak with Fowler and his superiors, and Arcee had done patrol alone earlier that day and was now in her berthroom doing Primus knows what.

What did they want him to do? Apologize to Zettabyte? Slim chance of that as he had no fraggin' idea where the mechling ran off to. It was just a moment of misplaced aggression. Besides, they didn't know what difficulties that the caste put him through. Working day in and day out, sometimes getting injured due to fallen debris or displeased, violent clients. Yet, Bulkhead knew that his team and leader had a right to be angry.

Ratchet had basically lost a would-have-been protégé, Bee lost a chance to have a teammate who was just about the same age as him, Optimus had basically gotten a front seat to the Wrecker's unprovoked tantrum, and Arcee…Arcee had the most right to be angry. Despite her cool, undaunted attitude, she had a soft spark for youths, hence why she was so relaxed around the kids and Bee. Like many bots, Arcee had wanted a family prior to the war. When the war started though, that plan was forced on hold. Now she was barely clinging to the hope of ever finding a mate, let alone having sparklings. But to see her own teammate act so viciously towards a mechling who was just voicing his ideals…that was not acceptable.

Bulkhead sighed as he continued driving. He probably should admit that what he did was wrong and unfair to Zettabyte, if only to make up with his team. As he was deep in thought, he didn't notice the blue armored truck charging at him until it was too late.

"UUNGHH!" the moss colored Wrecker grunted loudly in pain as he was forced off the road and turned over several times, transforming into his bipedal mode once he stopped. Looking up he saw the blue armored truck now stood in front of him before transforming into the mech he once called brother.

"Aw Bulkhead, you've gone soft. Back on Cybertron, you would have reacted before I could even touch you," Breakdown mocked cruelly, a smug grin plastered on his dark orangey-red faceplates.

The ire Bulkhead felt just minutes before came back at full force as he growled, "Didn't even know you were still capable of packing a punch. Thought you would have retired after our match for the Polarity Gauntlet."

Breakdown's smirk dropped a bit as he snapped back, "I may have not have great depth perception anymore, but I can still beat you into the ground. Just like how I can beat you at speed!"

Before the Wrecker could even do anything, the Stunticon transformed back into his alt. mode and drove the way Bulkhead had came. Transforming himself, the moss colored mech was hot on his rival's bumper. As he continued pursuing his enemy, Bulkhead realized where place that he and Breakdown were nearing.

They were two miles from the stadium.

 _At the Stadium; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha' mood had not lightened up since she arrived at the stadium. In fact, it seemed to have worsened.

She growled silently as Miko let out an ear-splitting whoop of ecstasy as a large shocking yellow and sickly green monster truck trampled a row of old model Fords and Sedans. And here Sasha thought that she found a kindred spirit. Well, maybe not a kindred spirit but perhaps a decent companion or friend. Boy was she wrong. Miko may not have been girly or bubble-headed, not completely anyway, but her thoughtless deception and unwavering persuasion reminded Sasha of the girls who her mother use to set her up on play dates with.

The nature-lover hugged her backpack close to her body, glad that she had decided to bring it with her instead of making the mistake of leaving it in the SUV. However, as paranoid as it sounded, she didn't trust the Asian girl to swipe it if she relaxed her posture or her grip. A thought then struck the Goth. She had the Sandersons phone number. She could easily call them to pick her up. She mentally kicked herself for not thinking it up earlier.

 _Except I can't do it around Miss High-Strung over here_ , Sasha thought angrily. She would need to make the call away from the trickster. An idea hatched in her head. She was a bit unsure but it was worth a try.

Getting up with a stretch, Sasha said casually, "Well all this _excitement_ has made me hungry. I'm gonna head to the concessions for a snack. You want anything? It's on me."

Hearing the offer of free food, Miko spoke without looking away from a vehicular carnage, "A cheesy chili dog with fries and a large Dr. Pepper."

Sasha nodded as she descended down the stairs, silently patting herself on the back for playing it cool and thanking whatever higher power there was for the small streak of luck. As she snuck behind the stadium seating, she didn't notice the two large vehicles that had disappeared to the far left side of her.

 _On the outer left side of the stadium; Third Person Perspective_

As the two mechs transformed into their bi-pedal modes, they lunged at each other. Bulkhead found himself on his back first, as his rival was larger and heavier than him. He was dazed for a moment but he regained composure just in time to see Breakdown's hammer heading towards his helm. He rolled out of the way and Breakdown's hammer met the dusty ground. The moss colored mech got up and charged at the blue Stunticon, arm raised to punch the ex-Wrecker.

However, Breakdown immediately saw this and was prepared for it. He grabbed his former teammate's arm and twisted it with a sickening crunch. A malicious grin spread across his faceplate as Bulkhead yelled in agony. The Decepticon brawler took the opportunity to knee his opponent in the abdomen before backing away and delivering an upper cut punch to the distracted mech's chin. The moss colored mech was sended smack into the back of the stadium before crumpling to the ground. Bulkhead once again found himself on his back as Breakdown loomed over him ominously. The blue Stunticon pressed his pede down hard on the Wrecker's chassis, as he lifted his hammer high over his helm. Just as he was about to bring it down on Bulkhead's helm, his comm. link pinged again.

Growling, Breakdown answered, "What is it? I'm in the middle of something!"

[Breakdown, the drones are all finished. You can play with the Autobot another time. Return to the _Nemesis_. Megatron's orders,] Knock Out stated in a firm tone.

Breakdown huffed in aggravation before saying coldly to the mech beneath him, "Looks like you get to live another day Bulkhead. See ya."

With that, the blue Stunticon transformed and drove away. Bulkhead, on the other hand, wasn't about to let the ex-Wrecker off that easy. Transforming himself, the moss-colored mech quickly drove after his rival. As he did so, he contacted Miko's phone.

"Miko, it's Bulkhead. Listen you're gonna have to call your host parents to pick you up. I'm a little _busy_ with _someone_ and I won't be able to pick you up after the show," Bulkhead claimed, half urgent, half calm.

What the Wrecker failed to notice as he left was that the large crater that he left on the back walls of the stadium had large cracks. And those cracks were spreading.

 _On the other side of the stadium's outside; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha had no idea what was happening.

One moment she had been trying to get a signal on her nearly phone when all of a sudden the ground started to shake. She first thought it was a mild earthquake when she noticed how the tremors seemed to be slightly choppy. It felt like something heavy was pounding the ground in weird intervals. It caused her to fall to the ground. Sasha could hear some people shouting in panic and leaving the stadium. However, it stopped after about ten or fifteen minutes. Everything seemed quiet at first. Looking at her phone, the Goth saw that the battery had died.

"Well that's just terrific," Sasha huffed with angry sarcasm as she got up from the ground. As she threw her phone into her backpack she heard a new sound. It sounded like a cross between breaking branches and creaking metal. Slowly looking up she saw that the solid part of the wall was cracking as the pipes keeping it in place trembled, signaling that they were about to give up. Her mind told her to move but her legs were having a hard time receiving the message.

Just as she was about to shake herself out of her trance and began to run, the wall began to crumble and the debris was falling towards her.

 _A few meters away; Third Person Perspective_

Zettabyte had been parked quietly in the lower level of the transporter when it happened.

The driver had parked his vehicle a few meters from the diner he had driven to before heading in for a cold drink and a little something to eat. Zettabyte's curiosity had soon started to grow into anxiety. Not because he was afraid of being caught but because he feared the quiet of the parking lot. It reminded him of the silence during Theta's burial ceremony back on Cybertron. He couldn't exactly hum a tune or talk to himself, as he feared he would get too caught up and the driver would come out and hear it before Zettabyte could register his presence. So the ruby and sapphire mechling was forced to wait patiently for the driver to finish his meal and come back.

That was until he heard the sound of screaming.

Startled, Zettabyte drove off the transporter and zoomed away, fearing the worst. And that's when he saw the stadium. The people were scrambling out of it as large chunks of it began to crumble and fall around them. For a horrific moment, he was reminded of the day that the gladiators turned on the nobles in the audience. He could still recall the roars of rage and anguish dueling with the volume of the cries of shock and fear. He shook himself of the traumatizing memory and got closer, managing to remain out of sight.

To his horror, he saw that a lone human girl was struggling to run from a shower of debris coming towards her. Whether it was the morals he was taught by his Amma and teachers or his sense of compassion for living beings, Zettabyte went into action. Not caring if he was spotted, he dashed towards the girl who had already tripped and fallen. He was so intent on protecting her that he didn't notice the sudden sensation that flowed through him.

Nor did he notice his paintjob and optics changing.

 _Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha didn't know what to expect when she fell. Did she expect pain of falling debris to descend upon her as her life flashed before her lives before being envelope by darkness, possibly forever? Probably. But what happened was different. The nature-lover once again felt tremors but they were different. They felt as though they were coming closer…to her! It was when she heard the sound of debris hitting metal did she open her eyes. What she saw made her heart stop and her thoughts screech to a halt.

Shielding her from the rubble…was what looked to be a robot. A giant robot.

It was crouching so she couldn't tell how tall it actually was but it was definitely taller than a house. Its body looked armored and foreign. Too well-crafted to have been built by any human hands. It was shadow black and ivory white in color. She realized that its hands, which had five pointed fingers, were cupped around her as the rest of its body shielded her from the flying debris. But what really caught her attention was its face. It was white, smooth, and had a sheen, not unlike porcelain. She didn't see any visible nose or ears. Its mouth was set in a thin line and its eyes were scrunched up. Its head had a three pointed fin like pieces and a white crest of some sort with a apple green dot in the front of the middle fin.

Sasha yelped when a brick-sized piece of rubble sailed over the robot's head and justly barely missed her head. That's when the robot's eyes snapped open. The Goth was in awe as she stared at the bright, neon green orbs that seemed to stare through her very being. Strangely enough, she didn't feel afraid. There was something…warm in those green depths. Almost…friendly.

Her jaw dropped open as it spoke to her in a young, male voice, "Are you alright?"

She found herself too stun to speak. A loud rumble of more falling rubble caused the robot to jolt up as it gently cradled the nature-lover in its, or his, large palms. Sasha saw him look in fear (she was sure of it) at the now barely standing stadium. Before the Goth could even say a word, her mechanical savior held her to his black and ivory chest before running away into the desert.

"We have to get out of here!" the metal titan said urgently.

Sasha couldn't disagree with him.

 _Fifteen minutes later in the outer part of town; Third Person Perspective_

It wasn't until they were about a good five miles did Zettabyte finally stopped running. Seeing a sizable boulder a few feet away, he walked over and placed the raven-haired girl down. The Goth balanced herself on the rocky surface before looking up at her rescuer with sparkling amethyst eyes.

"Thank you," Sasha breathed.

Zettabyte nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He then turned to leave.

"Wait! Please, don't go," the nature-lover called pleadingly. This caused the mechling to turn and stare at her curiously and cautiously.

Sasha stumbled over her words, "I mean, uh, I didn't get to say thank you. I don't even know your name. Please stay. My name is Sasha. Sasha Luna Morgan."

"M-My name is Zettabyte and you're welcome, Sasha Luna Morgan," Zettabyte stuttered himself, his pale emerald orbs locked on her amethyst ones.

Sasha couldn't help but laugh a little bit, "You can just call me Sasha, Zettabyte."

The mechling smiled a bit. A slight awkward silence stood between the adolescent human and Cybertronian youth.

Sasha broke it by stating kindly, "I like your, uh, colors. Black is one of my favorite colors."

Zettabyte looked at her in confusion before looking down at his body and falling back with a loud gasp and a sharp thud. The raven-haired girl fell back herself at her robotic companion's sudden alarm. She watched in concern as he scrambled to stand up and leaned towards her, still in a panic.

"Do you have anything I can see my reflection in?! Please?!" the mechling begged frantically.

Sasha nodded immediately before pulling out her dead Smartphone, its void surface just clear enough to act as a mirror. He leaned in to get a better look as she held it up towards him. Not a second later did the mechanical titan reel his head back in shock. He continued to analyze his legs, chassis, and servos. The Goth was confused at first until it happened.

His armor changed from shadow black and ivory white to deep, ruby red and dark, sapphire blue. Zettabyte's optics turned from neon green to a mismatched pair; the right one was a crystal blue while the right was blood red. Even his faceplate changed from white to silver. But it didn't stop there. The mechling's finish and optics changed back and forth. In the process he almost phased into the ground several times. The alarm he had felt just moments ago had sprung into full blown hysteria as he continued to yelp and mutter incoherently. The only thing Sasha could do was plead for him to calm down.

"Zetta-!"

"Primus what is going on?!"

"Zetta-!"

"Is this some sort of bad cosmic joke?! Wait! Those humans!"

"Zetta-!"

"The blast! Is that what did this to me?!"

"Zettabyte, calm down!" Sasha shouted at him. That seemed to do the trick. His body stopped changing and remained ruby and sapphire as he stare at her, a little shocked by her outburst.

He then covered his faceplates and moaned, "What's happening to me?"

Another moment of silence stretched between them until the Goth asked carefully, "Uh, Zettabyte…I have to ask…What kind of robot are you? Where did you come from? I know you're not from Earth. And you're not a mindless machine."

The mechling stared at her before sighing, "It's…a long story."

"I've got time. I'm not going anywhere," the raven-haired girl proclaimed, sitting down on the buolder, crossing her legs and staring into his mismatched optics.

Zettabyte said thoughtfully, "Where do I begin…?"

 _Thirty minutes later_

"So let me get this straight. You're a mechanical alien from a now lifeless planet called Cybertron?" Sasha inquired.

"That's right," Zettabyte stated with a nod.

"And the caste system that your adoptive father created started the war which is still taking place here, on my planet?" she asked.

Zettabyte reluctantly confirmed, "Yes."

"But the faction that you were going to join kind of cast you out? Then you were attacked by a group of humans called M.E.C.H. before you were saved by the faction that is labeled as the "blood-thirsty" faction but they were kind to you? Now you believe that whatever M.E.C.H. shot you with gave you…whatever this is?" Sasha inquired one last time, gesturing to his body that was ruby and sapphire…at the moment.

"You got it," Zettabyte answered, he too looking down at his body with a mix of suspicion and curiosity. Almost as though he was waiting for it to change color again.

Sasha looked into his mismatched optics, "But yet you have hope that you can end this war peacefully."

Zettabyte nodded and looked down, "I've…seen too many good mechs and femmes die…and knowing that it was my adoptive sire who caused this…I owe it to both sides."

"Sounds like your intentions are benevolent," Sasha complimented gently.

Zettabyte smiled weakly before frowning in self-loathing, "I can't say I wouldn't blame them if neither faction trusted me. Not after the caste destroyed their lives and our home."

"You're forgetting one thing; none it was your fault. The things your adoptive father, you shouldn't be held accountable for," Sasha assured soothingly, gazing up at him with soft gaze.

Relaxation fell upon Zettabyte before he sat down on the ground in front of her and saying, "How will they all react if they see what I'm now capable of. No one will want a freak on their side."

Sasha jumped up abruptly and said, "I don't think you're a freak. I think you're unique. And that you're amazing. You aren't afraid to speak your mind. You recognize that there's two sides to every story. You care for those in need of your help. You're smart, observant, and one of a kind. You want what's best for your people. You want them to treat each other as-"

"As equals," Zettabyte finished for her. They looked into one another's gazes. Both felt as though they could understand what the other was thinking. What they were feeling deep inside. A connection.

The nature-lover broke the silence first, smiling and saying, "Besides, you were willing to help me, even though you had no idea who I am. That's proof that you are a good person, er, bot."

Zettabyte smiled, "I would never let an innocent get hurt if I can prevent it."

"See! There's that good-natured streak," Sasha cheered, grinning wider when he let out a short laugh. It was then she realized just how young he sounded…how young he _was_. During his explanation, he had admitted that, in Cybertronian years, he was just about a year older than her. He was a teen…just like her. She then realized something.

"You know I really have to repay you for saving me back there," she told Zettabyte in a friendly manner.

Zettabyte considered it for a second before saying, "I need an Earth vehicle to scan. I was told that we need to hide in plain sight, but I can't do that while I still have a Cybertronian vehicle alt. mode. Do you think you can help me with that?"

Sasha smiled as she said coolly, "You came to the right person."

 _Fifteen minutes later in Jasper; Third Person Perspective_

"Welcome to Jasper Nevada," Sasha claimed as they hid behind a row of buildings. Zettabyte scanned the small area with a bemused expression.

They continued to stealthily move behind the buildings as quick and quietly as they could (which wasn't easy when you have a towering, robotic alien to get somewhere without being seen). Sasha stopped him when they caught sight of a pale blue building. It was rather large and had glass doors and windows. The sign above it, which was white with black lettering, read _Morgan's Modest Auto Shop_. Inside you can see about three or so cars on lifts with various parts and tools on tables near them. There was only two men inside, dressed in pale blue mechanic uniforms.

"Looks like we'll have to head to the back," Sasha said as she led her mechanical friend to the back of the building which had about seven garages and a parking lot behind it. Zettabyte stared curiously at the garages.

Seeing her friends curiosity, the Goth explained, "They keep the fixed vehicles here so we don't mix them up with the ones that are still damaged. Plus they make great storages for parts, supplies and tools. The garages are kept locked but there are windows."

"I should be able to scan them. As long as I'm up close to the real thing," Zettabyte reassured as they ventured towards the first garage. Peeking in, they saw a large, orange pick-up truck. Looking at each other, they both shook their heads. Moving on to the next one they discovered that it held a black motorcycle with skulls and flames on it.

"Let's try the next one," Sasha said awkwardly as she caught Zettabyte's alarmed look. The next one was a gray Plymouth. Still not right. The fourth was a white minivan. Definitely not. The fifth was a small bright purple moped with a blue peace sign. Nope. And the sixth one was a pastel pink Porsche with yellow flowers. Absolutely not. Finally they came to the seventh and lost one.

"Let's hope this one's a winner," Sasha said, her voice sounding hopeful in itself. They peered through the window and saw what it held. This vehicle was coincidentally the same red and blue as Zettabyte. It wasn't too flashy and looked to be new and somewhat fast.

Zettabyte noticed a pensive look on Sasha's face and asked, "Is something wrong?"

The nature-lover turned to him, saying slowly, "Well it's just…I'm not sure if you would like this one. It's a hybrid."

"You mean it's a combination of two different models?" the ruby and sapphire mechling asked quizzically.

Sasha giggled a bit and shook her head before explaining, "No. It's a vehicle that runs half on gasoline and half on electricity. It's eco-friendly. You know, not so harmful to the environment?"

Zettabyte looked even more intrigued, "So basically, this vehicle doesn't cause too much damage to your planet?"

"Well yeah, bu-," the raven-haired girl wasn't able to finish as two pale green lights shot from her mechanical friend's optics and passed over the vehicle. He gently set her down before taking a few steps back and transforming. Her mouth dropped open as she saw his new alt. mode.

It was a carbon copy of the one he scanned but the ruby and sapphire areas were in different places and seemed just a bit stronger. He drove forward and back up before driving in a circle to make sure he had good control of it.

"So what do you think?" Zettabyte asked, still in his alt. mode.

Sasha grinned, "You look awesome."

Suddenly they heard one of the men shout, "I'll be back. I thought heard something outside near the garages. I'm gonna check it out."

Before the man had even finished his sentence, Sasha had jumped into Zettabyte's open passenger door and buckled in as he peeled away from the auto shop.

"Where should we go now?" Zettabyte questioned.

"Well after all this excitement, I think I just wanna go home already. I'll tell you the directions," the raven-haired girl told him.

Zettabyte had no trouble obliging.

 _A few miles away from town; Miko's Perspective_

The foreign exchange student knew, as she sat in the backseat of her host parents' ocean blue Ford, that she was in deep trouble.

A couple of minutes after Sasha left to go get their snacks, Miko had gotten a call from Bulkhead, telling her to call her host parents to pick her and Sasha up. Of course she was disappointed but she didn't voice it or argue as the tone that Bulkhead had spoken to her in was sign that it was not up for debate. Once the call had ended, she got up from the stands to find her classmate and tell the raven-haired girl that they were going to have to call the Sandersons to pick them up. The moment she had gotten out of the row of crowded seats, the stadium began to shake.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the stadium was crumbling. Miko had already started running, only falling down after she was a good number of feet from the stadium entrance. Minutes later, ambulances and police cars arrived. The Asian girl had searched among the crowds for her gothic companion. When that failed she asked the paramedics and police officers. Still nothing. Getting nowhere she had no choice but to call her host parents and ask if they had seen Sasha. Her gut twisted when they told her no and asked why. When she explained, she heard her host mother give out a panicked cry as her host father demanded to know where she was. After she gave him her location, he said that they were coming and hung up.

When they arrived they were livid. Livid _and_ terrified. As soon as they were done speaking to the police, they ushered Miko into the car. That's when they gave her a what for. Patrick Sanderson scolded her harshly about how irresponsible she had been to bring Sasha somewhere without telling them. Nora Sanderson paid no mind to her husband rebuking their charge as she attempted countless times to call Sasha's phone.

Now here she was; quietly sitting in the middle back seat as her host parents focused on their own jobs; Patrick with driving and Nora with attempting to contact Sasha. Miko didn't dare look up, knowing that she was royally in trouble.

"Only ten percent left on the battery. Patrick, I'm going to try calling the Morgans' house phone. Hopefully she's at home already," the blonde-haired woman told her husband who just nodded as he focused on the road. Miko felt as though liquid ice was poured into her stomach. Her host mother sounded as though she was at her wit's end and about to cry. If Sasha didn't get pick up, then that meant two things; Sasha could be hurt or lost and Miko would be more than grounded.

Nora pressed the buttons in to dial the house phone before pressing the call button. Everyone in the car seemed to hold their breath as they heard the dial tone before it started ringing. One ring. Then two rings. Three rings. Then they heard the click of someone picking up before hearing voice.

" **Hello?"**

It was Sasha

 _The Morgan House; Sasha's Perspective_

The first thing Sasha had done when she had gotten into her house was drop her bag near the umbrella holder, press her back against the cool wood of the door, and slide to the floor with sigh of relief. She had sat there for a minute before running to the inside door that led to the house's large garage. Grabbing the remote hidden in old fishing bucket under some rags, she pressed the red button and allowed her companion to enter, still in his alt. mode. After making sure no one had seen, she closed the garage door.

"I'll be right back," she had told him as she went back inside the house. She rushed up to her bed room to recharge her phone. As soon as she had it plugged in, she heard a ringing from downstairs. It was the house phone. Rushing back down the stairs, she grabbed the phone off its set and answered.

"Hello?" Sasha asked carefully. The Goth was startled when she heard a women let out a strangled sigh of relief. Looking at the caller ID, she realized it was Mrs. Sanderson.

" **Sasha! Thank heavens you're alright** , **"** the woman practically sobbed in joy over the phone.

"Yes I'm fine Mrs. Sanderson. I just got home," Sasha said, trying to calm her neighbor.

Nora spoke again, **"When Miko told us that she couldn't find you when the stadium fell apart we were so worried! We've been contacting you for a good hour!"**

Sasha felt a wave of guilt hit her as she spoke, "I'm sorry. I was trying to call you at the stadium to come pick me up but I couldn't get a signal. Then my phone died. I hitched a ride with a friend from school. I didn't even know the stadium fell apart until I heard it on the radio and checked the news."

There was silence for a moment before, Mrs. Sanderson responded, **"Alright. We'll be home shortly to check on you. We're glad you're safe."**

"Okay. Thank you. Drive safely," the nature-lover said before hanging up. She then went over to where she dropped her backpack, picked it up, and hauled it to the front room to get some homework done and think about all that had transpired that day.

 _Ten minutes later; Sasha's Perspective_

Just as Sasha had gotten half through her biology homework, she heard a rapid knock at the door. Getting up from the couch, she walked to the door and opened it. She was met with the relieved faces of the Sandersons and the sullen face of Miko. She didn't mind when Mrs. Sanderson pulled her into a strong hug.

"Thank the heavens you're safe," she spoke softly.

"Where were you all this time?" Mr. Sanderson asked firmly but calmly.

Before Sasha could say anything Miko piped up, "Yeah, where were you? I searched everywhere for you!"

Suddenly, the annoyance and anger Sasha felt for the foreign exchange student just hours before returned full force.

Before the Sandersons could scold their charge, Sasha began her tirade directing her conversation to the Sandersons, "I'll tell you what happened. Miko here told me she was gonna drive me HOME after some punk named Vince let the air out of my bike tires! But what she met by "home" she met the monster truck stadium which I wouldn't have ever gone to in the first place if she hadn't tricked me!"

The Sandersons stared in shock at Miko, who had taken a few steps back in surprise at the Goth's anger.

Sasha continued, "Her friend, who drove us, just up and left. I sat in that stadium for two freakin' hours watching those STUPID monster trucks and choking on the fumes they spat out! I told her I was gonna get snacks so I can sneak away and call you guys but my phone couldn't get a signal and then it died! I then saw someone I knew from school and asked him for a ride home. He had to stop for awhile because he was listening to me vent my frustrations. Then after my rant, he dropped me off and that's when I answered the house phone."

The two adults and Asian girl stood silently. For a moment, Sasha was afraid they didn't believe her story. Then Mr. Sanderson turned to Miko with a steely look.

"Mikoto Nishiyo Nakadai, is what Sasha said true? Did you trick her into coming with you to that monster truck show?" he inquired with a stony voice.

Miko gulped and said sheepishly, "I like to think of it as surprising."

His scowl only deepened as he strictly ushered her to his house, saying, "Well I hope you had a nice time at that show because you won't be going anywhere except to school for the next _several_ weeks."

As Miko attempted to protest, Sasha walked back towards the door where Mrs. Sanderson was still standing. She gave the blonde-haired, green-eyed woman a warm smile which was returned with an equally warm smile.

"We'll check on you tomorrow. Goodnight sweetie," Nora said as she bid the raven-haired girl a farewell.

"Goodnight," Sasha said as she waved before going back inside the house.

 _Three hours later; Sasha's Perspective_

It was a little past ten when Sasha got ready for bed. Despite eating only a baked potato and some green beans, she wasn't still hungry. She had managed to get a little more than half her homework done and promised herself that she would finish the next day. Once she had brushed her teeth, changed into her night clothes, and turned off the lights. However, as she was about to go up the stairs to her bedroom, she stopped. Sasha turned and walked to the inside door and opened it. She quietly poked her head into the garage and saw the silhouette of Zettabyte, still in his car mode. The Goth heard a rhythmic sound. Like air going through vents but more...quiet. It then clicked in her head that he was asleep.

Allowing herself to smile a bit, Sasha whispered, "Goodnight Zetta."

As she closed the door, she couldn't help but feel surprised as she recalled her first thought when she came here.

 _I bet nothing happens around here, s_ he had thought. "Had" being the key word. Boy was she proven wrong. She let that sink in as she made her way up the stairs to catch some sleep.

*Dodges some angry Bulkhead fans and Miko fans.* Sorry about how long it took me to make this chapter. Anyway I got Miko's last name from the web. Nishiyo means "west generation" and I think it suits her because she obviously adores western pop culture. And I do NOT own Dr. Pepper or Quaker Chewy Granola bars, I just include them in this. The same goes for Sawyer. I also do NOT own the M.E.C.H. soldiers, I just gave them names. I forgot to mention that while Zetta has a helm crest like Arcee, it's not as tall (in fact it's leveled with the frontal part of his top helm fin *think of Knockout's helm with a small crest*) and it's silver with a blue spot. It turns white with a green spot when he's in ghost mode. For anyone who wants to know what Zetta's crest is like go here: /lexus-reveals-sneak-peek-of-new-lf-lc-luxury-sports-coupe-concept-car/.

Again I say, flamers will be flamed and haters will be ignored. Enjoy the chapter until next time.

Until then, Happy Reading.


	5. Chapter 5: Better Friends

Chapter 5: Better Friends

All Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. I own nothing but my OCs (Zettabyte, Sasha, Adalia, Colette, Sasha's family, etc.). I just made up the name for some of the unnamed characters (Miko's host parents (Nora and Patrick), Sierra's friend (Isabella), M.E.C.H. soldiers, etc.). If you have not seen _The Gift_ or _Shutter_ , be warned that this chapter has some mild spoilers for the movie. I also don't own any songs displayed in my fics either. The same goes with food brands/brand names (candy, cereal, cookies, etc.). Don't like it, hit the back button. For everyone else, enjoy.

Inside door-Door in the house that leads to the Morgan garage _~Ha~_ -singing

*Ha*-Reading aloud

 _Third Person Perspective_

Sunlight spilled into the house through the closed lacey, cream colored curtains as dawn turned into morning. All was quiet in the Morgan house. Upstairs in her room, Sasha slept soundly, hugging her black pillow case covered, bamboo fabric pillow to her head. She was faced away from her window which was bright with the sun's rays. Everything was calm until her phone alarm went off and Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" began to play.

 _~Wake me up!~_

 _~Wake me up inside!~_

 _~I can't wake up!~_

 _~Save me!~_

 _~Call my name and save me from the dark!~_

Sasha's eyes snapped open as she slowly lifted her head in a sort of dazed fashion, pushing her raven mane away from her face. Turning off her phone's alarm, she saw that it was seven thirty-five. The Goth sat up in her bed, stretching her arms before rubbing the sleep from her violet orbs. Normally she would sleep late on Saturdays but she felt well-rested enough to get up. Worry overcame her when she recalled what had happened the day before. Throwing off her covers and slipping on her dark magenta slippers she hurried downstairs in nothing but her sleep wear; a dark purple tank top with a silver star in the middle and black pajama bottoms dotted with silver stars.

She quietly opened the inside door and peeked in. Zettabyte was still there in his alt. mode which made Sasha sigh in relief, knowing that her extraterrestrial friend was still safe and present. The soft venting she heard last night was still going on, meaning that he was still in recharge. Choosing to let the mechanical youth sleep in she closed the door and headed back upstairs to prepare herself for the day. Once she had made her bed, she headed into the bathroom down the hall. While her aunt and uncle were not ones to show off their wealth, they had a taste for housing with many rooms, which was what exactly what their house had.

It was only two stories but had much space. Three bedrooms, a guest room and one master bedroom with a bathroom attached to it, two more bathrooms with the smallest only having a toilet and a sink and being adjacent to the inside door, a bookshelf, a laundry room and a medium sized supply room that was sometimes used by her aunt and two female cousins as a meditation room. All five rooms had closets. The guest room, which was Sasha's new temporary bedroom, had belonged to the live-in maid, Sofia, before her retirement. At the end of the right hall was a room that was a combination between an office and a bedroom where Sasha's aunt would use for making her crafts or her uncle would use it to pay bills in peace. Sometimes her cousins would use it as a study room if they had study buddies over and didn't want them in their bedrooms. A somewhat large kitchen with all the essentials including a dishwasher and a pantry and two dining rooms; the smallest right beside it while the largest being in the next room with a small crystal chandelier above it. A medium sized activity room for music, games, reading, or arts and crafts. Adjacent to that was the family room which had one large couch, one small one and a wide-screen TV.

In the backyard there was a small, covered patio and beside it was her aunt's garden which Sasha eagerly said she would take care during her stay. There was a small grassy area and a medium sized maple tree, whose leaves were on the brink of turning into their fall colors, next to the swing sets and slide with a platform and stairs that her uncle had installed when he and her aunt bought the house. A small, white single convex fence wrapped around the backyard. And of course there was the garage and shed. The garage, the same one where Zettabyte was currently residing in, was big enough to house three cars and a moped. It was spacious and the ceiling was somewhat high and the whole structure was connected to the house. The shed was big enough for a motorcycle and two bikes and was only slightly smaller than the garage. But unlike the garage, it wasn't connected to the house. Instead, it stood a few feet from the garage.

When Sasha had been shown around the house, she thought it would get too lonely and quiet with her aunt and uncle gone for a number of months whilst their children were away at college.

"Except I'm not alone anymore. I have a robotic alien as a friend in my garage," the raven-haired girl told herself with a strange sense of new found optimism as she entered the bathroom.

 _Twenty-five minutes later; Sasha's Perspective_

Once Sasha had showered, dried off, brushed her teeth, blow-dried her hair, and gotten dressed, she headed downstairs for breakfast. Her new attire for the day consisted of a dark forest green spaghetti strap tank top with a dark grey skull in the middle, dark gray yoga pants with a small circle of golden stars and a purple scorpion in the middle on the side of the left pant leg, with dark lavender and mint green striped socks. The only make up she wore was some dark lavender lipstick. She had put her hair up in a neat bun using a dark blue hair band with only two strands only two strands of hair loose, one on either side of her head.

Making her way into the kitchen, Sasha considered her breakfast options. Her aunt and uncle had purchased organic eggs, and soy breakfast meat products like soy bacon and soy sausage among other meat substitutes. The only thing that she wasn't going to eat was the chunk of salmon her aunt and uncle forgot to finish off. However, Sasha didn't feel like a hot breakfast today. Instead, she opted for two pieces of toast, one with grape jam and the other with honey, strawberries and banana slices, blueberry yogurt with granola, orange juice, and double-chocolate Krave cereal. As she was cutting the fruit she noticed that her nails, which she had painted black with electric blue and solar gold stripes out of boredom during the move, were starting to flake a bit. The nature-lover made a note to re-paint them again later while she dumped the banana peel and strawberry tops . Along with moving some of her belongings into the guest room, Sasha had been allowed to add some compost and recycle bins.

After arranging the fruit slices like her grandfather use to (smiling sadly as she remembered), she poured the milk into her cereal and dug in, savoring the chocolate flavor. She ate in silence for more than twenty minutes before she gathered the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. Just as she was about to go to her room to grab her backpack and finish the rest of her homework, she heard a knock at the door. Walking over to the door, she answered it and discovered it was Mr. Sanderson.

Smiling politely, Sasha greeted, "Good morning Mr. Sanderson."

"Good morning Sasha. You're up early today. I guess not all you kids like sleeping in on the weekends," the brown-haired man greeted with a warm smile.

The Goth shrugged with a cool smile, "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I thought I would get on with my day. I was just about to finish my homework."

"Well at least the wife and I won't have to worry about you getting your assignments done," he sighed with a slightly exasperated smile. Sasha nodded feeling a small hint of pity for the man. Having to keep an eye on someone like Miko was most likely not a picnic.

"Well I like to get the work out of the way to have the rest of the weekend off," the nature-lover said casually.

Mr. Sanderson nodded in approval before saying, "I would also like to apologize for Miko's little stunt yesterday. Believe me, she will never pull something like that again. She got what was coming to her; she's grounded until late September. No going anywhere except school until the twenty-fifth."

Sasha couldn't help but smirk on the inside. The first day of September was still a couple of days away.

The brown-haired man continued, "Listen, I'm heading to work. Nora is gonna stay home and keep an eye on Miko to make sure she doesn't sneak out. Can't tell you how many times that has happened. If you need anything just ask her."

"I will. Thank you," Sasha said politely.

Patrick Sanderson smiled as he headed to his truck waving, "Good. Have a great day."

"You too!" the Goth called as he drove away. The moment he was gone she heard a loud metallic tapping. Sasha smiled knowingly when she realized it was coming from the garage. Closing the door and walking to the inside door, she opened it to just in time to see Zettabyte, in robot mode, turn towards her with a sheepish grin. He was has half crouched, half kneeling in the middle of the garage.

"Hello," the ruby and sapphire mechling greeted kindly.

Sasha smiled, "Well good morning to you too. How was your rest?"

"It was different but not terrible. I've never recharged in my alt. mode before," Zettabyte stated gently.

Sasha smirked, "I'm not surprised. I highly doubt that your people slept in garages back on your home planet, right?"

Zettabyte couldn't help but laugh, "No we don't."

"Zetta," the Goth said suddenly, causing the metal titan to look at her in confusion.

"I beg your pardon?" Zettabyte asked curiously.

"It's a nickname I made up for you. Zetta, Zee. That is if you want one," the raven-haired girl explained carefully.

The adolescent Cybertronian smiled after a moment and says, "Yes, I would like those very much."

The nature-lover can't help but giggle herself before saying, "Hold on a sec, I need to get something from my room. I'll be right back."

After a quick nod from Zettabyte, Sasha hurries up to her room. Grabbing her backpack and any other textbooks and materials she needs, she heads back down. Just because she needed to finish her homework, doesn't mean she couldn't do it while talking with her new friend.

Once she returned to the garage, the raven-haired girl shut the door, sat on the ground in front of the mechanical titan, took out her homework, and smiled up at him.

"As we were," she spoke in a friendly tone.

 _Five hours later; Third Person Perspective_

It was about noon by the time Sasha finished her homework. She had managed to juggle her homework with talking to Zettabyte. It may have taken a bit longer than she had anticipated but at least her homework was now done. During that time they had exchanged different subjects, including their planets' cultures, likes, dislikes, hobbies, family history and life goals.

"My grandfather would use all sorts of plants back in his youth when he was traveling the world. He even used papyrus to make himself sandals and paper like the Egyptians did," the nature-lover proclaimed with a bright smile.

"I never got the chance to examine organic flora or fauna. Sentinel said it was unsanitary and unnecessary," Zettabyte spoke with a bashful look.

Sasha snorted, "The girls that my mom use to make me hang out with said the same thing when I took part in my middle school's Earth Day project. We would make compost, recycle stuff, conserve water and electricity, and plant trees and flowers."

The ruby and sapphire mechling looked at her curiously as he asked, "What did you say?"

"I told them that it was my choice and what I wanted to do and that they couldn't change that," Sasha announced proudly.

Zettabyte smiled wistfully as he spoke, "I wish I had the same courage and confidence you had."

The Goth looked at him with a look that was half sympathetic and half encouraging as she said, "You are courageous. Yesterday proved that. You just need a bit more confidence. Like my friend Chip. He use to be real shy up until he impressed everyone with his computer skills. Now he's almost as sociable as he is tech savvy."

Zettabyte smiled a bit and then asked, "Do you often miss your friends?"

"Everyday. Chip's mom and Raoul's aunt made a deal with them that they can't chat with me until they get their homework done. It wouldn't be a problem if Raoul didn't have a habit of procrastinating. Plus Chip is the only one with a computer at the moment," Sasha confessed.

"What about your parents and your grandmother?" the mechling asked.

"They're like my other relatives. They like to make sure that all of the Morgan auto shops are in tip top shape and aren't being messed with. And they don't like to leave my grandma alone so they most likely took her with them. But yes, I miss them too," she sighed with a defeated shrug.

Zettabyte gave her a gentle look, "Well, at least your father has shown you that he loves you. There were times when Sentinel would leave for business without even telling my Amma and I until he had gotten to his location of business and messaged."

Sasha felt her heart clench in pity for the mechanical youth. Her father may have been busy at times but he would always make time for her and the rest of his family. He was one of the few people who didn't mind her interests and goals and even accepted it as her grandparents had. When her grandfather had passed away a little over a year ago, their bond didn't waver. Meanwhile, Zettabyte had barely gotten any paternal love and affection. It was no wonder why the ruby and sapphire mechling had no qualms with admitting that his adoptive father was wrong to establish his planet's caste system and proclaiming that it was, in fact, criminal.

Walking over to the front of him, she put a hand on his knee joint in a comforting manner and said, "Thank you. I'm sure your adoptive mother was an amazing wom-, er, femme."

Zettabyte grinned with a nostalgic look in his mismatched orbs, "You have no idea. She was so caring and kind to those in the lower caste. And they loved her for it. Not to mention that she knew had to make those more snooty, mean-spirited nobles look like fools and babble like they were glitched in the processor."

The Goth couldn't help but snort, "She and my grandfather would've made great friends."

"Just like us," the ruby and sapphire mechling beamed happily with a short, soft laugh. Sasha nodded laughing before their humorous moment was interrupted by a low grumble that resonated from the nature-lover's abdomen. A blush came to her face as she looked up at Zettabyte's surprised expression.

"Sorry, it's just that it's lunch time," she explained with an embarrassed shrug.

The mechling nodded in understanding, saying, "Understood. I'll be right here when you get back."

"Thanks," the nature-lover said gratefully as went back inside the house. However, five minutes later, he heard Sasha let out a somewhat loud groan of exasperation.

"What happened?" Zettabyte asked, his voice loud enough so his human friend could hear. She came back into the garage with a frustrated look on her face.

"I forgot that my aunt and uncle used up some of the groceries they bought for the dinner we lunch we had with the Sandersons on Wednesday," the Goth huffed, kicking herself for disremembering the meal that had used up some of the items she required for lunch. Getting these groceries wasn't a problem for her. Of course her parents, grandmother, aunt, and uncle had put large amounts of money into her account and would continue until her return to New York. Not to mention her birthday and Christmas money was one of the many thing she brought with her so purchasing the groceries wasn't the issue. Getting to the store was.

"You can't go to the food depot yourself to get what you need?" the ruby and sapphire mechling asked quizzically.

"I think you mean grocery store and I would if I had something to help carry the groceries. We're not allowed to take the carts out of the parking lot and even if I had my bike I wouldn't be able pack the groceries on it," the raven-haired girl told her mechanical friend civilly. If there wasn't the danger of running into Vince who would either try to flirt with her or harass her, she would have gladly decided to walk. She remembered Mr. Sanderson saying to ask his wife for help if she needed it but that would mean interacting with Miko and Sasha was in no mood to deal with the little viper.

"If you like, I could drive you," the Cybertronian youth offered sincerely.

The raven-haired girl looked up at him as she spoke, "Are you okay with that though? I don't want to leave you alone while I head into the store and come out to see some thugs trying to break into you."

The mechling just nodded his head, "I'm sure everything will go smoothly."

"Alright. Thank you. Let me go grab a pair of shoes and some money and we'll go," the nature-lover said with a grateful smile before once again retreating into the house. Three minutes later she reappeared, now sporting black sneakers and a black wallet (made of recycled fibers) with dark blue skulls on it. As she opened the garage door to let the now alt. mode disguised Zettabyte out, she peeked outside and over to the Sandersons house. To her relief, there was no evidence that Mrs. Sanderson or Miko had seen them. Quickly closing the garage door, Sasha jumped into the passenger seat (making a note to herself to have Zettabyte tint his windows) and they were off. Less than twelve minutes later, they arrived at the grocery store. To draw less attention, they parked near the side of the store's parking lot. Putting the garage door remote in Zettabyte's middle compartment, the Goth got out.

"Uh Sasha, I think I'm parked on something. I feel it under my right tire," the mechling whispered so only his human friend could hear. Sasha stopped just as she was about to close his passenger door, feeling a little alarmed. Had he ran over a nail or glass shard? Looking at his right tire, she indeed saw something peeking out. It seemed to be a piece of paper of some sort. Bending down, she managed to grab it out from under his tire, revealing it to be a twenty dollar bill.

"It's just some money. And since you technically found it, it's yours to keep and use whenever you want," the nature-lover explained as she placed the bill inside the compartment.

"What can I possibly use it for?" Zettabyte questioned in an intrigued tone.

"I'll tell you when I come back, I promise," she spoke gently as she headed to the front of the store.

 _Five minutes later outside the grocery store; Jack's Perspective_

Since last night, Jack knew that this weekend was not going to be one of his good ones.

Yesterday, after coming home from yet another unpleasant shift at the KO Burger, he had discovered that his mother was still at work. As a result he had to make his own dinner, which was basically a small bag of Lays potato chips and a grilled cheese sandwich with ham and tomato with a Coca Cola. He had attempted to get started on his homework only to be interrupted by a three way phone call from Miko with Raf already on the line. What she told him nearly made him jump through his roof. And it wasn't the tricking Sasha into going to the monster truck show part. With Arcee having already left to return to the base, Jack had only one person to tell in; his mother. Suffice to say, she didn't take it that well.

Being a nurse and a single mother, June had a very protective nature when it came to children, from newborns to those beneath 21. But that didn't mean she didn't know when to lay down discipline. She had immediately taken out her cell phone and went into her room. It was no mystery to Jack which two people his mother was contacting; Fowler and Optimus. Knowing Optimus, the onyx-haired boy knew that the Prime would not be allowing him or Raf into the base as the leader and the other Autobots would need time to cool down after lecturing the moss-colored Wrecker for helping his human charge pull such a stunt. He was proven right when he went into his garage that morning to find no signs of the sapphire two-wheeler; just his bike and Sasha's still-yet-to-be-inflated electric bike (this being the result of yesterday's night shift and the unwanted surprise Miko presented him with).

The only good part about today was the fact that he had been given the day off (his boss being understanding enough to know that Jack couldn't handle the punks who would often take their food without paying). His mother had left a grocery list and some money for him before she left. Having only his half done homework to do that day, Jack had immediately set out for the store. Thankfully, the walk to the store was only ten minutes and his only items would be potatoes, apple juice, and oranges. As he made his way into the store, he didn't notice the unfamiliar hybrid sports car in the parking lot.

 _Inside the store; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha looked down at her groceries; canned black beans, broccoli, white, orange, green and purple cauliflower, lettuce, celery, yams, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, peaches, apple cinnamon granola, dried apricots, yogurt-covered raisins and Oreos (she couldn't ignore her craving for the sweet treat). As she made her way to the cashier, she suddenly heard someone calling out her name.

" Hey Sasha!"

The Goth recognized the Spanish accent. Her hearing was proven right as she turned around to see none other than Adalia strolling up to her with a cart of her own and a bright smile that Sasha couldn't help but share.

"Hi Addie," the raven-haired girl greeted warmly. She took note of Adalia's appearance; her hair was down but today she had a yellow flower hairclip on the left side. The Spanish girl was also wearing a short-sleeved, flowy orange blouse with faded jeans and brown closed-toe sandals with blue-green stones on the toe sections. Sasha noticed that she also had a pinkish-red and gold sun necklace around her neck. The nature-lover also saw that her friend's cart held peppers, tomatoes, beans, cheese, corn, onions, mangos, butterscotch chips, honey, bread, zucchini, and cocoa powder.

Adalia smiled excitedly at the raven-haired girl, "What's up? I'm shopping for ingredients for dinner with my mom and little brother. How about you?"

Sasha shrugged casually with a friendly smile, "Oh, I'm good. Just grabbings some items I need for lunch. "

"You excited for the movie tonight? It starts at seven thirty and Sawyer says that we're gonna pick you up at seven fifteen. I like your hair by the way. You should definitely have it that way when we go," Adalia spoke with a genuine smile.

"Oh! I totally forgot! Sorry, I had a real hectic day after school the other night," the Goth admitted apologetically.

Concern washed over the Spanish girl's face as she asked, "Why? What happened?"

As Sasha recounted the event to her, she was surprised by the anger in her classmate's chocolate-colored eyes, "I can't believe she did that! Who does she think she is?! If it were Scott, he would have taken you home as you were promised!"

Scott was the Sandersons son who was currently residing with Miko's family. The raven-haired girl had only met him on a few occasions as a child. He had his father's brown hair and his mother's green eyes. He was a reasonably nice boy who had a keen interest in chemistry. The nature-lover even felt more pity for her neighbors. How stressful it must be having your child go off to a foreign country and to bring a juvenile like Miko into your home.

"The good news is that the Sandersons grounded her so she has nowhere to go but school until September is almost over," the raven-haired girl stated, not being able to repress the feeling of justice when she said that.

"Well it serves her right for tricking you like that. Don't worry, the movie will help you take your mind off of it. And if Miko ever gives you trouble at school, we'll be there to help you," Adalia proclaimed with an encouraging grin. Suddenly the two girls heard an adult woman's voice call in a slightly more heavy Spanish accent.

"Adalia, where are you?"

"Over here Mom! Hold on, I'm coming back!"Adalia said as she turned her cart to return to her mother, she turned her head to give the nature-lover one more grin. "See you later this evening."

"You too!" Sasha called back as she turned her own cart around to head to the cashier, only to meet yet another familiar face-Jack. "Oh, hi Jack."

"Hey," the onyx-haired boy greeted with friendly tone. "How are you?"

"I'm good. I was just about to head over to the cashier," the nature-lover replied simply. "You?"

"I'm fine. Actually I'm glad I found you. There's something I need to tell you. I don't know how to tell you this though," Jack spoke in a tense tone.

The raven-haired girl looked at her classmate worriedly, "What is it?"

"Last night, Miko called Raf and I and told us about what happened," the onyx-haired boy admitted.

Sasha scowled angrily as she asked, "What did she say? That I bailed on her? That I squealed on her? That the reason that she got in the trouble was because of me?"

Jack winced before responding carefully, "She didn't say anything about blaming you. She was just angry and bummed out that the Sandersons grounded her. They allowed her one call before they took her phone away. But she did let something slip. This something…is what I'm trying to tell you."

"What did she let slip?" the raven-haired girl inquired, half curious and half on edge.

Her classmate let out a sigh as he confessed, "It wasn't Vince who let the air out of your bike tires…it was Miko herself."

Sasha backed away as though she was slapped before stuttering out, "W-What?"

"She was ranting about how "unfair" the Sandersons were being and how her work was for nothing. Raf and I asked what work. She tried to make us leave it alone but we wouldn't let her. She then admitted that she had let the air out of the tires when no one was looking," Jack explained, a hint of guilt in his voice. The Goth stared at him with a blank expression for a minute or so. The onyx-haired boy felt ice shoot up his spine when her eyes darkened in hidden rage. He jumped out of the way as she pushed her cart to the cashier, her knuckles white as she gripped the handle tightly. She didn't pay attention to the fact that Jack was following her.

As the cashier began to ring up Sasha's groceries, the onyx-haired boy came up to her and began talking again, "Listen Sasha, you have a right to be upset. I know finding out about this has made you mad-"

"No. I was mad when Vince tried to persuade me to buy him alcohol. I was mad when I thought _he_ was the one who let the air out of my tires. I was mad when Miko tricked me to coming to the show and made me sit there for two hours. This isn't me being mad. This is me being _furious_!" the raven-haired girl snapped, not caring that a few shop goers had stopped to watch her yell at her classmate.

Jack winced as he tried to soother her irritation, "Look, Miko was wrong to use that method to try to get you to hang out with her. And, in all fairness, I should have stopped her."

The nature-lover balked, "Stopped her?! You mean you knew that she was planning to take me there?! And you didn't have the courtesy to warn me?!"

The onyx-haired boy held up both hands as if to calm her, "Raf and I thought that if you told her that you didn't want to be at the stadium, she and her friend would have been understanding enough to take you home. We were obviously wrong. But she is being punished for not taking how you felt into account."

"Oh trust me, when I'm done with her on Monday, she's gonna wish that the Sandersons had her put under strict house arrest," the Goth huffed as she paid the cashier who had put her items back into the cart (no plastic or paper bags). She turned away and pushed the cart out, not looking back to once.

 _Fifteen minutes later back at the Morgan house; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha growled as she put the groceries away, only leaving the white cauliflower, broccoli, yams, peaches, and black beans out. She was peeved beyond words. Three classmates that she thought she could trust besides Sawyer, Colette, and Adalia and it turned out that she couldn't even trust them to tell her the truth. Okay, maybe that was a little unfair to Raf, seeing as how he was still younger than his friends and, most likely, if he had attempted to stop Miko, the Asian girl would have ignored him. But the fact that Jack _knew_ and allowed her to get into the bulky vehicle with the foreign exchange student without so much as a hint enraged her.

"Well if he and Miko think I'm gonna let this go just like that, then they have another thing coming," the raven-haired girl snarled viciously, considering the idea of having her metal friend pull a _Christine_ -based prank on her two dishonest classmates. She stopped when she thought of Zetta and felt a sliver of guilt. After her blow up on Jack, she had stomped out towards the parking lot to where the ruby and sapphire hybrid car. The mechling had immediately opened his trunk and allowed his human companion to load her groceries while not saying a word. Either he didn't want anyone passing by to hear him or he sensed her bad mood and decided to be quiet to let her gather her thoughts. Sasha assumed it was the latter as the mechanical youth didn't ask what was wrong or anything.

"He probably thinks I'm mad at _him_ ," she said aloud with regret as she finished putting away the unneeded groceries before looking at the inside door and making her way towards it. "I better go straighten things out before it's too late. Poor guy probably thinks he did something wrong and that I'm giving him the silent treatment."

Twisting the knob and opening the door, Sasha poked her head inside and began speaking, "Zetta are you-"

Her sentence was cut off as she threw the door wide open and stared into the empty garage. She noted that the garage door was closed so he must have phased out of the garage. Panic and guilt rose into her chest. Had she really been radiating that much anger that he was scared off? Just as she was about to run to the front door to see if she could catch a glimpse of him on the road, she heard his voice.

"Sasha what's wrong?" came Zettabyte's worried voice from the center of the garage, though Sasha saw nothing.

"Zetta? Where are you?!" the Goth called frantically.

"What do you mean? I'm right here!" his voice came again sounding both confused and panicked. Just as the nature-lover was about to ask what he meant, she fell back in surprise. Out of nowhere, her friend had just reappeared. It was almost as if he had been hiding behind a curtain that was painted to match the spot empty spot he was now occupying.

Seeing his human friend's shocked face, the mechling asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"H-how did you do that?" she breathed with wide eyes.

"Do what?" he asked as he was very bewildered himself at this point.

"Make yourself disappear and reappear. How did you that?" the young human responded.

"Huh?" the mechling was still unable to comprehend what she was saying.

"Z-Zetta…I-I think you were invisible just a moment ago," the raven-haired girl stuttered in awe and disbelief. The Cybertronian youth stared at her strangely before he looked at his body. He looked at his servos…and discovered that they were flickering, from visible to invisible and back right before his and Sasha's eyes/optics. If it wasn't for the small enclosure, Zettabyte's upper body would have shot up and he would have fallen back.

Once they stopped flickering, the mechanical adolescent choked in a whisper, "Why is this happening to me?"

"I think you have a new ability…and it just manifested itself," Sasha claimed awkwardly.

Zettabyte blinked in complete shock, "Even when I'm not in the rescue mode?"

"Is that what your calling your black and white half? Your rescue mode?" the Goth questioned, initial shock now half-way gone.

"Well the first time I went into that mode was when you were in danger. And when we were coming back to your home I was worried about what or who made you upset," the adolescent Cybertronian explained.

Remembering her guilt from earlier, Sasha said apologetically, "I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was mad at you, Zetta. I'm not. I was mad at someone else and I didn't say anything because when I'm mad I tend to yell at those around me and I didn't want to do that to you."

"It's alright. I understand Sasha," Zettabyte responded with a soft smile that made the raven-haired girl smile in relief before coming over and once again placing a hand on his knee joint.

"Thank you for understanding. I'll explain what happened," Sasha promised gratefully before she blushed as her stomach rumbled louder than it had before they went to the store. "Though I should probably go and make my lunch first."

 _Eighteen minutes; Third Person Perspective_

Sasha sat in the garage with her lunch; a plate of sauteed cauliflower and broccoli, cooked mashed yams with unsalted sunflower seeds, and black beans with onions and green bell pepper with a nectarine, peach, and mandarin orange smoothie.

"Then Jack tells me then and there that it was Miko, not Vince, who let the air out of my tires," the nature-lover huffed before taking a sip of her smoothie from an old, cleaned-out jam jar (she was thankful that her aunt and uncle shared the same idea of reusing glass containers).

"It sounds to me like you had a right to be mad. No one should be tricked into going somewhere or doing something unless it's for a good cause, not force them to endure something that they find dislikable or goes against their beliefs," Zettabyte agreed. Sasha nodded as she chewed thoughtfully on her broccoli and cauliflower. She had considered telling the Sandersons what Jack had told her but then she thought about Scott. She wasn't exactly best friends with him but he had been kind to her whenever they met; he played games with her, he would share his toys, and he would even share any sweets he had on him. She hadn't seen him since the Easter barbeque when they were nine but by what the Sandersons told her, he had grown into a social and gentle teen. She didn't want to ruin his stay in Tokyo just because she was letting Miko get to her. The Goth could handle the punkish foreign exchange student herself. Her thoughts were interrupted when her partner spoke up yet again.

"I must say I admire your vegetation only diet. I wouldn't want the flesh of a long deceased creature inside me either," the ruby and sapphire mechling complimented with an admiring grin.

The raven-haired girl shrugged her shoulders with a smile, "What can I say? I'm an animal lover. Plus being a vegetarian or vegan is healthy and can help the Earth."

The Cybertronian became more interested as he asked, "How so?"

"Well for one thing, raising crops requires less energy than raising livestock for food which means that they don't emit carbon or greenhouse gases which cause global warming," the Goth tried to explain. However, her extra-terrestrial friend seemed even more confused.

"What are greenhouse gases? And livestock? What's global warming?" the adolescent Cybertronian probed quizzically. Sasha bit her lip. It was obvious that it would take more than her own explanations to help Zettabyte understand Earth and all of its aspects. Just then an idea popped into her head.

"I'll be right back," the nature-lover stated as she took her now empty plate and jar inside. Not two minutes later, she came out with a black laptop.

"What is that?" the metallic youth asked with intrigued as he pointed at the human electronic.

"It's a laptop," Sasha explained as she opened it up and turned it on. In a matter of seconds her screensaver appeared with its icons, the screensaver itself consisting of a dark red background with bouquet of shadow black roses and wisteria colored hearts around them. "It's a portable computer for humans."

"Really? The only portable computers that my people have are battle computers and they're only installed into tacticians," the mechanical teen said, his mismatched orbs staring at the laptop with a strange excited glint. He then opened his servo and offered it to the raven-haired girl, as though he was asking for the portable computer. But before she could even ask if he wanted to hold it, something else happened.

From his index digit, two long, thin wires extended like snakes towards the laptop. The nature-lover could only stare as they hooked up to her computer with a quiet click. Without warning, the laptop was flashing different images and documents across the screen. She looked up to see that Zettabyte was looking straightforward with a blank look on his faceplates. A little less than three minutes later, the screen returned to the screen saver and the wires retreated into the metallic youth's digit. Zettabyte blinked his optics as if he was snapping out of a day dream and looked down at his human friend.

"Your planet…is amazing," he said with a genuine tone as he looked straight into her eyes with an expression of awe. Sasha could only nod as she took it for a compliment.

After a moment, he asked, "Do you have any books? Any genre will do."

The Goth could only nod before hurrying inside the house and, after six minutes, came out balancing a tall stack of books which she then set gently on the garage floor. Immediately, Zettabyte grabbed the one on top, _Chocolat_ , and began to read it. She was confused and surprised when he flipped through the books pages and his optics widened.

"I think the priest is subconsciously pushing back a sin from his childhood," the mechling claimed before once again flipping through the pages and finishing. "Yup, he was."

Sasha just shook her head and laughed in awe and amusement as he picked up another book.

 _At the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

The base was slightly illuminated with light as the Groundbridge opened. Ratchet looked towards it as his leader and two team mates stepped into the base. Arcee's fist were clenched at her sides with her helm down and Bumblebee's optics held a look of sad defeat. Optimus' faceplate was as stoic as always but there was a hidden gleam of disappointment in them.

Despite knowing the answer, the Autobot medic asked, "No sign of Zettabyte?"

 **[No,]** the scout sagged in exhaustion and misery. The Prime rubbed his youngest team mate's back gently. The three Cybertronians had spent a good chunk of the night and morning searching for the ruby and sapphire mechling. However, their efforts were in vain. Ratchet hadn't gotten to add Zettabyte's spark signature to the main computer and as a result, they couldn't use the computer to find him. They had asked Agent Fowler to keep an eye out for a non-Earthly vehicle but so far the middle-aged human had not reported anything yet. They couldn't even use the CNA from the pod the adolescent Cybertronian had come in because the government officials that Fowler had asked to drag it away sterilized it in fear of foreign bacteria.

Ratchet sighed, "Bumblebee, go recharge. You're still young and you need your rest. You too Arcee."

The yellow scout obliged and walked to his quarters. Arcee, on the other hand, remained where she was. Her face was contorted in an angry, stubborn frown.

"Arcee-," the red and white mech prepared to scold her but was sharply interrupted.

"No. Not until we find him," she growled firmly, her sky blue optics shining with pure stubbornness.

The royal blue and cherry red mech tried to speak to the femme, "Arcee, we will find Zettabyte. But we cannot do it if our systems are exhausted. We have done all we can today."

"How do you expect me to rest knowing that a Zettabyte is out there all alone where the Cons can snatch him and do Primus knows what to him?!" the two-wheeler snapped, not willing to back down. She couldn't believe that she was trying to be coerced into recharge while a helpless Cybertronian youth was out there probably cold and starving. The dark sapphire and pink femme couldn't get the feeling of recognition she had when she met him out of her processor. She felt, no, she _knew_ that she had met him before. And while she wasn't sure, Arcee felt as though this familiarity was benevolent.

"If the Decepticons had caught Zettabyte, they would have called us. Probably to bargain him for some of our Energon," Ratchet scoffed, slightly disgusted by the image.

"And with Bulkhead still recovering from his latest encounter with Breakdown, we cannot risk being in a vulnerable state," Optimus put in, only to receive an angry look from the femme.

"That _fragger_ is the whole reason why that kid isn't here with us! What Sentinel did was _not_ Zettabyte's fault! He had no right to chase him out of the base," she snarled, feeling nothing but pure animosity for her mentioned team mate at the moment.

"While I agree with your reasoning, you must take into account that not having a re-energized system will only do more harm than good if we wish to find Zettabyte and bring him back. Do you understand?" the royal blue and cherry red mech spoke sternly but gently, his tone signaling that the discussion was over.

The two-wheeler stared at her leader for moment before stomping off while muttering, "Fine."

As soon as she was out of audio-shot, Ratchet said, "You know she does have a point. This whole thing could have been avoided if Bulkhead had controlled his temper and judgement better."

The Prime could only nod as he said, "The only thing we can do now it try to right the wrong we allowed to transpire."

With that, Optimus made his way to his quarters as well.

 _Six hours later at Sasha's house; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha inspected herself in the mirror. Taking Adalia's advice, she had left her hair in a bun and even included a dark royal purple and black lotus hair clip, which her grandfather gave her for her eleventh birthday, on the left side of her hair along with white rose earrings that she bought with her grandmother during the summer. The outfit she had chosen was a sleeveless plum purple high neck ribbed crop top with a dark magenta cat on it and black jeans with a silver fleur-de-lis on the left pant leg. Her only make up was dark grape lip gloss (animal testing free of course). She wore lavender socks that were dotted with dark magenta spider web prints and blue violet high top shoes which were a gift from Raoul. On her left wrist she wore a forest green and purple camouflage handkerchief that had a neon paw print in one corner and on her right wrist she wore a black bracelet with a red heart on it. She had painted her nails her nails a two tone of maroon and silver and on her left thumb, she drew a purple heart on the silver area.

She had already eaten a dinner consisting of the last of the left over mashed potatoes with a bit of butter, red beans, and asparagus sautéed with mush room with a can of grape juice. Once the raven-haired girl doubled-checked her appearance and taken a few iron and vitamin supplements, she headed once more to the inside door. And, of course, she was met with the sight of Zettabyte, in robot form, curled up and asleep with open books surrounding him. He had fallen asleep between finishing _The Great Gatsby_ and starting _Fahrenheit 451_. The ruby and sapphire mechling was now curled up and deep in the Cybertronian version of dream land.

Making sure that her sticky note that detailed her whereabouts on the garage side of the door was still attached, she carefully and quietly closed it. She had already told the Sandersons where she was going and that she would be back late. They approved but did state that Sasha would be only allowed to do this on Friday nights and Saturday nights. As she walked to the front door, she recounted the items in her pockets; her wallet with money and her spare house key and her Smartphone. Opening the door, she was surprised to see that Sawyer on her doorstep.

"Hey I was just about to knock," Sawyer said, slightly sheepish by her un-provoked answering. He wore a cobalt blue long-sleeved v-neck with orange stripe on the sleeve and waist and a white tiger in the middle. He also wore gray denims and white tennis shoes with accents of teal. Looking past him, the Goth saw a black hybrid SUV with violet flame decals. The nature-lover could clearly see Adalia in the backseat and Colette in the driver's seat. "You ready?"

Nodding as she stepped out and closed the door behind her, Sasha asked, "Is that your SUV?"

"Yeah, it was being sold for about one-hundred and fifty dollars. My parents helped me pay for it under one condition; use it to help my grandma with errands," Sawyer explained as they got in.

"Hey, Sasha! You look great," Adalia greeted with a bright smile as the Goth sat beside her in the back. She still had her hair down but she had now replaced the yellow flower clip with a sky blue butterfly clip and wore a jade bracelet. Her new attire consisted of a pale blue casual chain-neck halter top which was somewhat showed under a half open pale teal sleeveless button laser cut top and a dark turquoise skirt with dark aqua sporty canvas shoes. Her only make up was baby blue lip gloss.

"Hello there. Looks like we came just in time," Colette said with a cool smile. She had her hair in fishtail braid and had on pale red lip gloss. She wore a rose-colored draped front sleeveless shirt with a blush-colored scarf around her neck, burgundy loose-fitting slacks, and beige and peach casual low-heel wedge shoes.

As Sawyer got in the passenger seat, Sasha asked, "So you're letting Colette drive? I didn't know you she already had a license."

"She doesn't," Sawyer said calmly as they all buckled up.

"W-What?" the raven-haired girl stuttered, not missing Adalia's face going slightly pale. Her question went unanswered as her French classmate pressed down hard on the gas pedal, flooring it. Sasha immediately gripped the cushion material of her seat as the acceleration caused her to slightly be forced against the back of her seat. She turned her head to see Adalia in the same position but only a little less freaked out than the nature-lover.

The only male in the group spoke to the first-time driver gently, "Colette, ease up on the throttle. This isn't a race. Brakes please. We're approaching a red light."

The vehicle's occupants lurched as the driver smashed her foot on the brake. Sasha sat there stunned in her seat as she and her friends patiently waited for the light to turn red. She turned her head to look at Adalia and saw that the Spanish girl had calmed down first and was staring back at her.

"Sawyer has been giving Colette driving lessons and tonight is one of their practice nights. I'm sorry, we should have told you," Adalia explained apologetically.

"It's alright," the Goth said sincerely despite her surprise. Strangely enough, she only felt partial fear. The other half was…exhilaration. The quirks her friends were displaying made her feel as happy. It was nothing like the fearful adrenaline rush she had endured when she was running for her life at the stadium yesterday. It was refreshing and enjoyable. Her thoughts were interrupted by Colette speaking to her.

"Addie told us what Miko did to you. You were right to leave and tell the Sandersons on her," the auburn-haired girl said, with a firm approving tone.

"I don't know what that girl's problem is. Now don't get me wrong, she can be nice most of the time. But other times, she…she just doesn't want to act her age. Just don't let her talk you into anymore hang outs," Sawyer piped up shaking his head.

"Trust me, you won't catch me going anywhere with her ever again," Sasha assured, though she was silently doubting that Miko could ever act as anything but a little punk.

"Light's green," Adalia spoke up, only to regret her words as Colette yet again floored it and turned left with a screech of tires that caused them all to lurch to the right before they fell right back into the middle of their seats.

"Remember, stay focused on the road and in your lane. Gentle turns," the African American teen instructed as gently as he could to the female driver. Despite the slight speeding, bumps, and lurches (not to mention once instance where they splashed a jogger by accident and had shouted apologies) they made it to the theatres in one piece and the SUV was unscathed. The Sawyer, Adalia, and Colette stepped out first with only Adalia feeling a bit rattled. However, Sasha couldn't help but stumble out wobbly when as she got out.

"Whoa," the raven-haired girl breathed as she tried to shake herself of her dazed state.

"Yeah, I'm still learning," Colette stated bashfully as she gently grabbed the Sasha's arm and led her to the ticket booth alongside Adalia and Sawyer. As the Goth was just about to pull out her wallet, she was stopped by Sawyer.

"Nuh-uh. We invited you. Therefore I'll pay for the tickets, and Addie and Colette will pay for our snacks," he said in a friendly tone that had a fake "that's final" hint to it to show that he was just being polite. Sasha could only nod and thank them as he paid for the tickets and went they went inside. After getting their tickets checked, they went over to the concession stand.

"Four medium popcorns, four medium drinks, and four candies," Adalia said as she and Colette pulled out an equal amount of money and paying the concession employee. The nature-lover was shocked when instead of paper bags of popcorn, they were given round buckets that were a little bigger than a large pickle jar and were filled to the brim. And the cups were neon green with the word **biodegradable** in white with a dark forest green recycle symbol.

Seeing her surprised face, Sawyer explained as he grabbed his Butterfinger Bites, "The school's Earth Club petitioned for the theatre to switch to reusable popcorn buckets and biodegradable cups. It took them a few weeks but they did it."

Sasha blinked as got her Crunch Bites and spoke, "There's an Earth Club at school?"

"Yeah, they're really cool and kind, especially Ms. Kissaryn. She's the councilor who started the club. It's because of her why we have a community garden to go with the Jasper Willowfern Greenhouse. Both of them are located a few miles away from school," Adalia added as she grabbed her M&Ms. The raven-haired girl was surprised. Her aunt and uncle had mentioned a greenhouse, but not the community garden. Of course, they were so focused on making sure she would know where to go to purchase foods and other necessities that they must have forgot to mention it and tell her how to get to the greenhouse. Suddenly, she thought about the envelope that she had gotten the other day and how it still remained unopened on her bed.

Taking the opportunity as they walked to their seats, she asked, "I got an envelope that was made of recycled material in my locker yesterday. You think it could be them?"

Her three friends smiled knowingly as Colette answered back while opening her Cookie Dough Bites, "Most likely. One of the members must have heard that you're into the environment and saving the Earth. If it is, they're probably asking you to join them."

"We all are part of something at school. I'm with the soccer team," Sawyer put in smiling.

"Cooking and Baking Club," the chestnut-haired girl and auburn-haired girl chimed in unison, whispering while doing so as the previews started up.

Sasha only smiled as they turned to watch the trailers which would then lead to the movie.

 _Two hours later outside the theatre; Sasha's Perspective_

"Totally saw it coming," Adalia said as they headed to the SUV. They had finished the movie and their snacks, gone to the bathroom, and were now out in the parking lot.

"What do you mean you saw it coming?" Sawyer asked.

"The husband was rude and conceited. He acted domineering and belittling here and there. The movie was totally giving off the same "it's the husband's fault" vibe like in _Shutter_ ," the Spanish girl explained.

"Not to mention some of the trailer hints," Colette put in.

"Now I know why most of my cousins took or are taking General Woman Studies in college," the Goth stated. The other three nodded as they got into the obsidian and violet vehicle.

Checking his watch, Sawyer announced, "It's barely gonna be 9:30. Why don't we cruise around a bit? Just for awhile." 

Nodding, Colette backed out of the parking space, slow and careful. But soon as she got onto the road, it was back to lurching and tires screeching.

"He said cruise, not _burn rubber_ ," Adalia half scolded half joked. The only response she got from her French friend was a sound that was crossed between a laugh and the "pssh" sound someone makes when they're ridiculing a friend's assumption or question. The raven-haired girl couldn't help but let out a laugh herself, even as she was pulled and yanked by the auburn-haired girl's wild driving. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a large parking lot that was attached to a basketball court.

Getting out with her friends, Sasha asked, "What are we doing here?"

Sawyer grinned as he answered, "This is where we come to just relax on weekend nights."

Out of the corner of her eye, the Goth saw Colette grab something out of the car and hand it to Adalia. Sasha saw that it was a tall mason jar and inside it were cream-colored discs and pale lavender discs. She turned to Sawyer and saw that he was grinning, his dark brown eyes glinting with what seemed like childish joy.

"What new treats do you two ladies have there?" he asked excitedly.

"I made black sesame seed lemon shortbread," Adalia announced proudly.

"And I made poppy seed lavender macaroons," Colette stated in a tone that sounded as equally filled with positive achievement and pride.

As Adalia opened the jar, the raven-haired girl's nose was filled with the tangy scent of lemon and the flowery aroma of lavender. The nature-lover could have sworn her mouth was watering.

"Try them," the Chicana said encouragingly as she held out the jar.

Sasha grabbed one of each. Choosing to try the shortbread first, she took a good-sized bite. She melted as the tasted the sweet yet tart lemon which wasn't too overpowering. The black sesame seeds gave a subtle texture. She immediately finished it before moving onto the macaroon. She nearly fainted at the warm lavender taste touched her tongue.

"Good?" Adalia and Colette asked in unison, both with big grins.

The raven-haired girl nodded furiously as she smiled and complimented, "Oh my gosh, these are amazing!"

Sawyer chuckled as he grabbed some of the cookies, "These two are the best bakers in town. And it helps that they grow some of their own ingredients."

Adalia nodded, "My family has a lemon tree in our yard. Plus the greenhouse has some vegetables and fruits like oranges and asparagus that they let you take for a small fee."

"Not to mention the different herbs and flowers that grow in mine and my mother's garden and the other flora at the community garden," Colette added.

"You know, my aunt did say that I could add some more plants to her garden while she was away. Maybe I could plant something," Sasha put in as she thought about the different vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers she could plant in the garden.

"Hey if your aunt says you can do it, go for it," Sawyer said to the nature-lover enthusiastically.

The raven-haired girl could only laugh as they relaxed under the stars.

 _One hour later in the parking lot; Third Person Perspective_

"And so that's how we learned that it was my Uncle Aldrich who was sleep eating," Colette chuckled as they all laughed. They quartet of teens had spent the last hour munching on the cookies, talking, and laughing. The Goth had told her new friends a great deal about herself and vice versa. The trio had learned that Sasha was quite talented when it came to science, especially biology and botany. Colette had a talent for making herbal remedies as Adalia had a knack for making jewelry. Both girls were descended from excellent bakers, cooks, and confectioners. Sawyer was part of the school soccer team and he lived with his grandmother because his parents, who were in the air force, wanted him to have a stable environment and not move him around too much. He was also aiming to have a career as a member of a emergency rescue team.

"So Sasha, what do you think about sports?" the only male teen in the group asked carefully.

The Goth shrugged as she answered, "I only care about them if they have good sportsmanship."

"Good point," the African American adolescent responded with a nod and a smile.

"Besides I'm more into yoga, hiking, and other physical activities that actually have to do with enjoying it for fun or having some time to yourself," the nature-lover added after a few seconds.

"Totally," Colette agreed. A few moments of silence passed before Adalia spoke up.

"Hey Sasha, can I ask you a question? And you have a right to not answer," the adolescent Chicana asked before reassuring her friend, her tone full of curiosity.

"Sure Addie," the Goth answered calmly in a relaxed tone.

"What exactly made your parents send you here? I mean I heard something about thugs but I wanna know exactly what you meant," Adalia spoke as gently as she could while making eye contact with raven-haired girl. By this time, Sawyer and Colette had also switched their attention to the nature-lover.

Five seconds past before Sasha spoke, "Where do I begin?"

The three other teens waited patiently for her to begin her story.

"It was last Thursday. My friends, Chip and Raoul, and I were just hanging out at the skate park, minding our own business, when these three punks just walked up to us," the Goth's voice was filled with disgust as she spoke, "They tried to act like muggers and demand for us to hand over our money and belongings. We just told them to go jump in ditch."

"They didn't get the message?" Sawyer probed knowingly.

"Worse. They got mad and grabbed Chip and were about to push him in his wheelchair down the skate park stairs. He was born paraplegic so you can imagine what would've happened to him if they had managed to push him down _concrete_ stairs," Sasha spoke angrily as the other three nodded their heads solemnly as they listened.

"And you and Raoul fought those guys?" Colette questioned.

"All Raoul could do was shove the guys away from Chip and roll him away. He had a bit of a record so if he had fought, he would've been arrested too. So he got Chip away and they called the cops while I dealt with those creeps," she corrected, hands tightening into fists on her lap.

"How did that go?" Adalia asked but she and her friends knew the answer.

"Let's see; I got out with a few bumps and scrapes and they got out with one have a broken wrist and bruised ribs, one having a broken nose and a black eye, and one with a kicked groin and missing teeth," she listed as her new friends stared at her in shock.

"Whoa. You really are a fighter," Sawyer said with an impressed tone, a small shimmer of admiration in his eyes.

The raven-haired girl blushed and smiled slightly before it was replaced with a sad yet annoyed frown, "My parents weren't impressed. They were terrified what could've happened if those guys got the better of me. So they sent me here."

"It must have been hard to leave your family and friends," Adalia said sympathetically.

Sasha nodded, "At least those jerks were put behind bars and my parents helped Chip and Raoul's family file restraining orders. I…I thought I was going to be lonely and bored when I came to Jasper. But I was wrong."

The four teens shared a smile before Colette looked at her phone.

"It's gonna be eleven in twenty minutes. We better head home. My family is going to a potluck tomorrow," the French girl said as she got up and entered the driver's seat.

"And my family is going to my grandparents' to celebrate their anniversary," Adalia spoke up as she and Sasha once again were in the backseat.

"And I'm helping my grandma with some errands tomorrow," put in as he got into the passenger as well. Listening to the others talk about what they were going to be busy with the next day made the raven-haired girl think of Zettabyte. She knew that the Internet and books could go so far. He would grow curious and want to explore his surroundings.

 _Maybe that's what we should do tomorrow_ , the nature-lover thought to herself.

"Hey Sasha, you okay?" Sawyer asked in a tone that was slightly concerned.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about what I'm gonna do tomorrow," the Goth reassured him.

Sawyer seemed to accept her answer as he turned his attention to Colette who nearly passed a red light.

 _Fifteen minutes later at Sasha's house; Sasha's Perspective_

"Thanks again for letting me hangout with you guys," Sasha said gratefully as she exited the car.

Sawyer nodded as he smiled at her, "You're welcome. Sorry we can't hang out tomorrow."

"But we will see you at school on Monday. With some treats to boot," Adalia promised with a grin causing the Goth to smile genuinely with equal enthusiasm.

"Goodnight Sasha. Have a good day tomorrow," Colette said with a sincere voice and smile to match as she drove-well peeled rubber-back the way they came.

Sasha waved goodbye as she walked up to her door, key out to unlock it. However, as she stepped onto the front porch and was just about to put the key in she heard a rustling coming from the bush right beside the door. The raven-haired girl stared at the quaking shrub. It was too small for any human to hide in and the shaking was stronger than if it were done by a bird or squirrel. Leaning towards the bush a little to get a better look, out popped the creature that had been the cause of the rustling.

It was a cat.

A black Burmese cat, which looked to be around a year old, stepped out of the pushes and stood a few inches away from the Goth and stared up at her. Its fur was shadow black and while the right eye was green, the left eye was orange. The feline didn't seemed to be frighten at all.

"Hey cutie, where did you come from?" the adolescent female human said and the creature mewled in response. As she petted the stray, her heart melted as it purred at her touch.

Taking a chance, Sasha scooped the cat up, surprised that it didn't attempt to run or lash out at her. As she looked at its underside while picking it up, the nature-lover immediately saw that the small mammal was female. But what really shocked the raven-haired girl was that she could slightly feel the female feline's ribs. Her protective, animal-loving instincts kicked in at full force.

"You poor thing. You probably haven't had food in days," she cooed at the tiny creature cradled in her arms as she opened the door and let herself in before closing and locking it. She immediately went into the storage room. Her aunt and uncle had told her that when Chrissie had left, they used their free time to help around town. That included babysitting and pet-sitting, which they were quite good at. They had left the supplies they bought incase Sasha herself was asked to watch someone's child or animal companion.

Sure enough, as she opened one of the cabinets, she found flea and tick removal shampoo, vitamins and supplements for animals, medicine, green towels with white paw print motifs, pet food, brushes, and a few toys. Grabbing what she needed, Sasha hurried to the upstairs bathroom while balancing the feline and her supplies. She managed to make it to the bathroom and closed the door. Turning the water on, the Goth laid her materials beside her just as the female Burmese began struggling a bit.

"Mrowr. Mrowr. Mrowr," the stray meowed repeatedly as though she was saying "no" over and over.

"Hey, hey, hey. None of that," Sasha said firmly but gently. After a few seconds, the furry creature calmed down as she allowed the lukewarm water to hit her. The raven-haired girl lathered the shampoo into the shadow-colored coat. She winced a bit as some dirt, but thankfully no visible bugs, began seeping into the drain. Once she was sure the feline was clean, Sasha rinsed her off and dried her thoroughly, making sure to turn off the water before doing the latter. When the cat was dried enough, the nature-lover began brushing her coat to remove loose hair.

"Mew," the feline purred as the brush ran through her fur.

"You like that, don't you sweetie," Sasha said softly to her as she brushed the Burmese's coat. Once she finished, the nature-lover put the towel in the hamper and placed the brush and the shampoo away in the cabinet under the sink, making a note to put them back in their correct place the next morning. Taking the cat back downstairs, she remembered the hunk of salmon.

As she entered the kitchen, the raven-haired girl placed her furry companion the floor as she opened the fridge and grabbed the salmon chunk which was wrapped in a Tupperware. Grabbing a small plate, Sasha placed the chunk onto the plate and put it in front of the female Burmese. The black feline wasted no time in digging into the slab of fish. Just as she was planning to grab the milk, the raven-haired girl stopped and decided on water instead so that she could add crushed vitamins into the water.

She opened a cabinet and pulled out a porcelain mortar and pestle. Her aunt had bought it from a thrift store along with a ceramic one and a stone molcajete but the Goth decided that the porcelain one was safer to use and easier to clean. Pouring some vitamin pills into the mortar and began crushing them with the pestle. After making a fine powder, she grabbed the bowl of water and emptied the mortar's contents into it, stirring it a bit with the pestle for good measure. When she set it down, the female Burmese sniffed it warily before licking it gingerly and was soon lapping it up thirstily. No sooner had Sasha finished washing the pestle and mortar did she heard tapping on the inside door. Walking over, she opened it and sure enough Zettabyte was staring at her with a bright smile and a slightly sleepy look in his optics. No doubt it was due to abruptly awakening.

"Hey Sasha. How was your night out?" he asked politely with a kind smile.

"It was great. And it really cheered me up," the raven-haired girl answered brightly. Just then, she felt something brush against her leg. Looking down she not surprised to see the cat rubbing herself against the nature-lover's leg. The shadow-colored feline froze when it saw the mechanical titan. Turning her attention back to her extraterrestrial friend, Sasha saw that he was still as stone as well and staring at the stray with a wide-optic look. The Goth started to become nervous and prepared to grab the cat should things turn ugly. Without warning, the Cybertronian adolescent smiled and held out only pointed, silvery gray digit to the animal. To the human girl's relief, the Burmese slowly stepped closer and sniffed the digit before licking it.

"There's a good kitty," the ruby and sapphire mechling spoke softly, using the term he learned online.

"Prrrrr," the feline rumbled as the metallic alien youth gave her a careful scratch under the chin.

"She likes you," Sasha giggled.

"Well the feeling is mutual. Where did you find her anyway?" Zettabyte asked as he continued to pet the Earth creature.

"Right outside the house. I gave her a bath, a good brushing, food, and vitamins," the raven-haired girl explained.

"That was kind of you. So what are you gonna name her?" the robotic teen inquired good-naturedly. Sasha thought about it. She hadn't thought of keeping the feline but the idea wasn't unpleasant. She had always wanted a pet but her mother's distaste of the idea prevented that. But now that the nature-lover was in a new location without her mother's rules, then why shouldn't she take advantage of it? Immediately, she began thinking up various names but they didn't seem right. She looked at her phone absent-mindedly and saw that it was a quarter passed eleven. Almost midnight. That's when it struck her.

"How about…Midnight?" the Goth offered.

"I like it. What do you think Midnight?" Zettabyte asked the furry creature.

"Meow," the young cat meowed innocently. The two inter-species friends laughed.

"Looks like we'll take that as a yes. Hold on, I'm gonna go get changed and then I'll come back and tell you about how my night went," Sasha stated smiling as she left to go change out of her clothing which was still a bit damp from the bath she gave the newly named Midnight.

 _Sixteen minutes later in the garage; Third Person Perspective_

"And Addie and Colette's cookies were heaven," the raven-haired girl gushed as she petted Midnight who was now laying comfortably in her lap. She had changed into a white tank top with a maroon spider and blue camouflage pajama bottoms with her dark magenta slippers.

"Sounds like you had a wonderful time," the mechling said with an admiring tone. He had read all the books in the house and his partner had promised that they would head to the town library later that week.

Sasha nodded before popping the question, "Do you want to drive anywhere tomorrow?"

"Where to?" Zettabyte asked curiously. The Goth thought about it. She wished that Jasper was near a forestry area so she could show him some of Earth's natural qualities. Yes, the desert part around the town and the rock formations seemed interesting, but they couldn't risk running into anyone from town or any tourists who would see them and then identify her if she came across them.

"Hmmm. That's a good question," she admitted.

Zettabyte looked down at his human friend in thought before he had an idea, "Wait I minute. I think I know what we can do."

Opening his subspace, he pulled out the device that Megatron had given him before his departure.

"What's that?" his human friend asked in a combination of surprise and interest.

"Megatron gave this to me before I left. He's the leader of the Decepticons. He said if I ever needed Soundwave , his Third-in-Command, to bridge me somewhere, to just call him with this," the adolescent Cybertronian explained. "I was thinking that we can use it. I'll tell Soundwave that I wish to explore a more green section of Earth and he'll bridge us to it. I'll just leave out the part that I have you with me."

"Will it work?" Sasha asked with the smallest tinge of nervousness.

"It should. But we don't have to try if you don't want to," the ruby and sapphire mechling reassured, feeling a little guilty for getting his friend a little worked up.

"No, I trust you. I can't say I trust the Autobots and Decepticons here on Earth but I know you would ever do anything to put me in danger. We're doing it," his companion comforted him with a smile.

The mechanical titan smiled at her gratefully, "Thank you."

Sasha nodded with a smile herself, "You're welcome. Oh I almost forgot!"

Zettabyte watched as she pulled out a blue and green envelope before asking, "What is that?"

"It's an envelope that I found in my locker the other day. Colette says that it could be from the Earth Club at school. Basically they do projects to help the Earth and it's environment," the nature-lover explained as she opened the envelope only to discover that the envelope _was_ the letter which had been folded up to make it look like it was in an envelope. Sasha's eyes scanned down the paper and Zettabyte noticed her eyes widening with what looked like glee.

"What does it say?" the metallic youth asked, now extremely intrigued.

The Goth excitedly read it to her friend, "It says *Dear Sasha Morgan, we at the Earth Club have received news about your interest in making the Earth a more clean and eco-friendly planet. We would like to offer you a place with us this year. We'll be doing various projects that aim to help the Earth and the creatures and people on it. We also have treats and or events as a reward after each project. This club is open to any ideas you or our fellow members may have that will help the environment, animals, or people in need. If you wish to join, come to Room 12A this Monday to join our first meeting of the year. We will also have refreshments. Hope to see you there. Sincerely, Miss Kissaryn*."

"That sounds awesome. You should join!" the extraterrestrial teen exclaimed encouragingly.

"You know what? I will," the raven-haired girl confirmed with an enthusiastic smile. Out of nowhere though, she let out a yawn.

"But I guess we should get some rest now," Zettabyte stated as he too began to feel exhausted once more.

"Good thinking. Goodnight Zetta," the nature-lover said as she got up with Midnight and the letter in her arms.

"Goodnight Sasha," the mechling responded softly as he gave the Cybertronian equivalent of a yawn and curled up once again, his optics dimming as they closed.

Sasha could only smile and giggle silently before heading upstairs to her room to turn in for the night. Laying down on her bed, with Midnight curled by her side, she had feeling that perhaps she wouldn't mind this new change in her life. Or any others sure to come.

Sorry it took so long for chapter 5 to get here. Darn college. Any of you who play "Slender: The Arrival" would know that the way I described Sasha's aunt and uncle's house sounds like the house from the game. That's also because I based it on the house. I just thought since Jasper keeps being referred to as a place in the middle of nowhere and because the house in the game was very roomy, it would make a great choice. Yeah, I'm strange like that. So sue me. So I give the makers of the game credit for inspiring me to make Sasha's house like that. Anyway I would like to thank you all for your patience and to Speedy (aka Speedstreek360) for encouraging me to finally start on my fanfics and helping with some details (ex; Sawyer's SUV). Fun fact; there are people who do reuse old glass jars. I would also like to add that Mr. Parker is based on my science teachers from high school and Miss Kissaryn is based on some school therapists I had from elementary to high school. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. Flamers get flamed and haters get ignored. Until next time, enjoy my other fics.

See you later, and Happy Reading!


	6. Chapter 6: Enter the Ghost Zone

Chapter 6: Enter the Ghost Zone

All Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. I only own my OCs. And Clockwork, the halfa idea, and the Ghost Zone belong to Butch Hartman. Once again, any song or food brands mentioned aren't mine. This chapter will help explain Zetta's powers. Don't like, hit the back button. For everyone else, enjoy.

Warning; slight cursing and graphic scenes.

Sparked-pregnant _**{ha}-**_ voicemail recording

 _Outside the Darby Residence; Zettabyte's Perspective_

The Sun was still beneath the horizon when the ruby and sapphire mechling got to his destination. He had left at five (having changed his chronometer to suit Earth time). The cool early morning air felt surprisingly good and made him relax a little. He had been feeling a bit conflicted when he left. His mission; track down this Jack human and get Sasha's electric bike back for her. During their talk yesterday, his human friend had told him that Jack had taken her bike to his home to fix it the day before and how she had been so angry at him and this Miko human that she forgot to bring it up. Feeling a great empathy for his partner and some annoyance towards her two classmates, he decided that he was obligated to do what he thought was right.

 _It's not stealing. I'm just getting back what rightfully belongs to Sasha_ , he told himself over and over in his head.

He had taken the liberty of using Sasha's laptop (which she had accidentally left in the garage) to look up the names of the citizens in Jasper to find out the last name of this Jack person. Luckily, only one person in the town named Jack, his last name being Darby. Once he had found the address, he downloaded it along with the directions he needed before he left via going into his "rescue mode" and phasing out of the garage. He would have left earlier but he had a hard time changing into said mode and an even more difficult time remaining in it as he phased out of the his human friend's garage. When he got out, he wasted no time in recalling the directions and driving towards his intended location. Another five minutes passed before he arrived at the spot.

The house one-story and the garage was smaller than Sasha's, only seeming to have enough room for a car and perhaps a little for a two-wheeled mode of transportation. The house was a pale tan color where as Sasha's was a pale, cool blue. Even the gray metal mailbox paled in comparison to the Morgan mailbox which was a Victorian mailbox with pictures of swans on the side. Approaching the garage door, Zettabyte looked through its windows (a contrast it had with the white-washed garage door of Sasha's home which only had small rectangular slits at the very top of it). Looking inside, he saw a white sedan, a reddish burgundy couch, a wooden table, a bicycle-and Sasha's electric bike.

"There you are," the Cybertronian adolescent whispered excitedly with a grin. He then turned to look at his arm before closing his optics and concentrating. "C'mon, phase mode. For Sasha."

It took a couple of tried but when he opened his optics the seventh time, he saw that his arm and servo had become translucent. Carefully poking the garage door, he was pleased to see it phase right through. Pushing the rest of his servo in, he moved it to where the silver and lavender bike stood as he grabbed it, surprised that despite his translucent arm, he was able to grab it. However, he was shock and annoyed when he attempted to pull it out only for it to be stopped by the equally solid door.

The mechanical youth growled in mild frustration, "Oh come on you!"

He considered opening the garage door with his free servo but thought better about it. If he were to forcefully open it, then it could damage the door or the closing mechanism itself. As much as he wanted to get his partner's bike out, he didn't want to cause any property damage. He had no real feelings of animosity for the inhabitants of this home. He just wanted his friend to get back what was rightfully hers. He tried looking for an opening somewhere around the garage but found none. It was at this point that the aggravation he felt when he was trying to get into his rescue mode come back with a fury.

"For Primus' sake! What do I have to do?! Make the whole house intangible?!" he growled beneath his breath. In his frustration, he placed his free servo against the door as though he was about yank the bike through the barrier that was separating him from the bike at full-force. What happened next shocked him. The garage door became translucent.

The ruby and sapphire mechling couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open as he whispered, "What the-?"

The mechanical extraterrestrial slowly pulled the servo that held the bike slowly out of the intangible garage, the bike thankfully remaining in his grasp. He then removed his other servo from the door and breathed a sigh of relief as it became solid. The last thing he wanted was for the inhabitants of the home to wake up and freak out because their garage was practically nothing more than untouchable, see-through curtain. Double-checking to make sure there were no signs of stirring from the house or the ones around it, he transformed, confirming that he had safely and properly managed to put Sasha's bike in his backseat, and began driving back to his partner's home.

 _Two hours later at Sasha's house; Sasha's Perspective_

The raven-haired girl was awakened by the feel of something soft rubbing against her cheek. Her suspicions were proven correct when her violet orbs cracked open to see the black feline rubbing her head against her cheek. Smiling, she sat up and stretched before lifting Midnight up and holding her close. She was rewarded with a nuzzle to the chest and a purr.

"Good morning Midnight. You want some breakfast?" the nature-lover asked smiling as she got out of bed with her animal companion.

"Mrowr," the female Burmese responded in content. Sasha smiled as she set Midnight down and walked towards the bathroom to prepare for the day.

Moments later, the Goth and cat walked downstairs. Sasha grabbed the can of Purina Friskies cat food that she had left on the counter last night. Just as she was about to open it with the ring pull, she heard a tap resonating from the inside door. Putting the can down and picking up the black feline, she made her way to the door and opened it. She was greeted by a grinning Zettabyte who had something cupped in his servos.

"Sasha, I present to you, your bike!" he said with a dramatic tone as he opened his servos to reveal her bike which he then placed it gently in front of her.

"Wha-! Oh my-! How did you-?" the raven-haired girl stuttered in awe, eyes shining with happiness and gratitude as Midnight jumped down to sniff and rub against the bike before going over and doing the same to Zettabyte's pede to which the mechling reacted by tickling the cat's chin with one digit.

"I tracked down where that Jack person lived and I used my phasing powers to get your bike back. Get this; I can make other things intangible," the Cybertronian adolescent proclaimed, still smiling.

"Really? Thank you!" the Goth thanked him sincerely with interest before she turned to examine her bike. When her eyes fell upon the re-inflated tires, she felt a pang of guilt. She recalled the tone of anger she had given Jack the other day and regretted it. He was just trying to be a good person when he told her the truth and she reacted by taking some of the anger she was holding for Miko out on him.

"Are you okay?" the metallic teen asked when he saw guilt and sadness enter his human friend's eyes.

"I shouldn't have yelled at Jack the other day. He was just trying to be the adult that Miko doesn't want to be and tell me the truth and I practically blamed him for letting me go with Miko. It's not his fault she's a conniving little liar," the nature-lover told her robotic titan friend, guilt clearly present in her tone. "I should apologize to him tomorrow."

"Well I can't encourage or discourage your decision but I believe you should do whatever you feel is right," Zettabyte told her with a soft smile and a comforting tone.

"Thanks Zetta," the Goth said as she looked up at him, smiling softly herself. "I'm gonna go make Midnight and I some breakfast and then we'll talk more."

"Sounds fine to me," the metallic teen said as his partner nodded at him before she disappeared back inside with Midnight in tow.

 _Twenty-two minutes later; Sasha's Perspective_

After serving Midnight some wet food and milk, Sasha made herself some scrambled eggs, soy bacon, oatmeal with maple syrup and brown sugar, a small glass bowl of berries and almonds, and a glass of ice cold apple juice. She and the female Burmese now were sitting and eating in the garage as she discussed with her partner where they should go.

"So I was thinking that we can head to one of the forestry areas of your planet. The question which one," the ruby and sapphire mechling spoke to his partner in a thoughtful tone.

"Well they're all very beautiful," the nature-lover responded as she spooned up some oatmeal and consumed it before taking a sip of her apple juice.

"Really? Hmm. It's a shame that we can't go see them all at once. Not without making Soundwave suspicious or just plain annoyed," the Cybertronian adolescent mused, half serious, half joking.

Sasha snorted as she nibbled on a strip of her soy bacon, "I thought you said he was the silent observer type."

"Well I believe it was your people who said 'it's always the quiet ones'," Zettabyte teased good-naturedly.

"Mrowr," Midnight meowed as milk dripped off her whiskers.

Both human and Cybertronian laughed. After a several more minutes, the Goth finished her breakfast before taking her dishes and Midnight's dishes to the dish washer. Sasha then came back and grabbed her laptop (still unable to believe she had left it in the garage) and turned it on. She set it down on the kitchen counter and went back into the garage where she found her partner gently petting the female Burmese.

"Hey, I'm gonna go see if my grandma and friends are on so I can web chat with them," the raven-haired girl announced. Both robotic extraterrestrial and feline looked at her.

"Okay. Hey, maybe you should show them Midnight. I know you can't exactly show me off but it shouldn't apply to her. Besides, if your grandma and city friends are as cool as you say, then they won't mind or tell your parents," the mechanical teen stated with a reassuring smile.

"You know what? You're right. Come here Midnight. Thanks for understanding Zetta," Sasha said gratefully as she gave her partner a thankful grin and scooped up the Burmese.

"Of course. Tell me how it goes," Zettabyte said as he returned her smile before she exited the garage.

Setting Midnight down on a chair in the small dining room, the nature-lover went back and grabbed her laptop from the counter before returning to the dining room and taking a seat next to the feline. Logging onto Skype, she clicked on the icons needed to contact her grandmother and friends. She was thankful that her grandmother was understood modern tech and social media very well. She was one of those elderly people whose youth-like attitude made her very popular with kids and teens alike. Two minutes later, three medium-sized screens popped up on the window, showing the live feed of her grandmother, Chip, and Raoul.

"Hello sweetie," the elderly women's voice crooned. Her hair was a dark gray color in a bun and her eyes were blue in contrast to the Goth's eyes (which she inherited from her grandfather).

"Hey Sasha! Guess whose laptop finally got fixed?" Raoul cheered with a good-natured smirk, his burnt sienna eyes twinkling with confidence and attitude. His long, dark hair still in a loose ponytail with an orange bandana around his forehead.

"What Raoul means to say is that it's good to finally be talking with you again," Chip said, adjusting his glasses. The computer-savvy teen had rich brown hair and sky blue eyes. "We're sorry we couldn't talk with you on Friday or Saturday. You can thank Mr. Procrastination here for Saturday though."

"Hey, not all of us are as good at math and science like you are Einstein!" the music-lover shot back, half-joking half-offended.

"Oh you boys hush! Let Sasha have a chance to speak," Mabel Morgan scolded lightly.

"Thanks grandma. And it's good to see and hear you guys again too," Sasha spoke warmly. "It's been…interesting since I got here."

"Interesting how?" Chip inquired curiously.

"My first day of school; pretty good. The only person I had a problem with was some punk named Vince. That's how I met Sawyer, Adalia, and Colette," Sasha explained.

"Your new friends?" Mabel guessed kindly. The raven-haired girl nodded and pulled out her phone and brought up a picture that she and the mentioned teens had taken the night before showing it to the aged woman and two teen boys.

"Wow," Raoul spoke, a blush appearing across his face as he eyed Adalia's picture. "Your new friends look pretty cool."

"I have to agree with Raoul. They look nice," the computer genius said with a blush as well as he stared at Colette's image.

"They look darling," Mabel gushed gently.

The raven-haired girl nodded before she picked up her feline friend and held her in front of the computer, "They're not the only friends I made either."

"Mrowr," Midnight mewled as though she was saying hello before washing her face.

"Man, you're breaking all the rules!" Raoul laughed.

"She's adorable. You saved her didn't you?" the elderly woman asked and smiled when she received a nod. "That's my girl."

"And it's a good thing I made friends with them too. Miko, the foreign exchange student that the Sandersons' are housing, didn't turn out to be the person I thought she was," the nature-lover said with a slight cringe as she petted the Burmese who stayed perfectly calm in her lap.

"What happened?" concern graced her grandmother's face.

"You can tell us Sasha," Chip reassured with a friendly smile.

The raven-haired girl couldn't help but smile as well. Despite being hundreds of miles away, her friends and family still worried over her and thought about her. It made her feel happy to know how she was still on their minds.

The Goth then continued "Well, where do I start….?

 _Two hours later at Jack's house; Arcee's Perspective_

Arcee huffed as she made her way to Jack's house. Optimus had decided that it was alright for Jack and Raf to return to base that day as most of the tension that had been building up the past two days had dispersed. For him, Ratchet, and Bee at least. But for the sapphire femme and the moss-colored Wrecker, the tension was still high. Bulkhead had been released from the medbay that morning but she had already left. The fact that while Zettabyte was out there alone and most likely scared made her angry that her massive teammate was alright and now lumbering around the base. He was, however, unhappy that his human charge was grounded until late September.

"Maybe he'll finally get a taste of what it's like to be worried about someone who's so much younger than you and being unable to check on them," Arcee said to herself bitterly. Her processor kept returning to the ruby and sapphire mechling. Somehow, the monitors couldn't find his energy signature which strengthened her reserve that he was in the grasps of their enemies. Not to mention she couldn't shake the fact that he was familiar. Yes, he slightly looked like the vain Decepticon medic who had once been her lover but that wasn't it. It was more than that. Almost…closer to the spark…

Her thoughts were interrupted when she approached Jack's house and saw both her charge and his mother speaking with a police woman in front of the house. The police woman had a blue and gray uniform and blonde hair and was writing in a small notebook. Arcee kept her cool and approached slowly enough to hear. Thankfully, the blonde enforcer didn't seem to hear her or see her drive and park beside the house. The two-wheeler then listened in on the conversation.

"So you said that you found that your classmate's bike, which you were fixing for her, was gone at around seven thirty?" the woman asked the obsidian-haired teen as she looked up from her notebook.

"Yes. I was gonna bring it back to her today," Jack said with clear distress present in his tone and face. Arcee felt a sense of pity and worry for her partner. What was going on?

The officer jotted something down before turning to June, "Does anyone else have access to your garage?"

"No, just my son and I," the obsidian-haired nurse answered, looking quite on edge as well.

"Have you ever had any problems with break-ins? Do you have anyone who would want to steal from you as a sick joke or retaliation?" the police woman asked only to receive a negative answer from the both of them. "What is the name of bike's owner?"

"Sasha Morgan," Jack responded.

"A Morgan's possession, huh? That thief is going to be very sorry," the blonde said with a shake of her head. "I'll take your statement back to the station. And I'll call the owner to let her know."

"Thank you Officer Fanzone," June said politely and sincerely. The blonde, Fanzone, nodded before she walked back to her car and took off. It was then that Arcee chose to drive to the mother and son.

"Hey Arcee," Jack said though his tone was a mixture of frustration and unhappiness.

"Hey, what happened?" the blue femme couldn't help but question.

"I came out to get Sasha's bike to take it to her house and it was gone," the obsidian-haired teen said in utter exasperation.

"What?!" the two-wheeler couldn't help but exclaim.

"I just don't understand it. How could the person who took it be so quiet getting in and out?" June muttered to herself, very concerned that someone had gotten into her and Jack's home.

"This is just perfect. First I get Sasha angry at me and now I lose her bike," Jack grumbled. By this time, his mother had gone inside to prepare breakfast. Arcee felt pity for her partner. She recalled how he had called her yesterday and explained what had gone down at the store. He sounded so guilt-ridden and now she had no doubt that he was feeling self-loathing.

"Jack, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have seen this coming," the femme soothed.

"I know but…Sasha was already upset thanks to Miko," Jack explained softly but downheartedly.

"Then that's Miko's fault, not yours. You were trying to be a good person unlike her," the female Cybertronian said encouragingly and comfortingly. "And Sasha understands that too and is probably considering apologizing. You just gotta have a little faith."

Her human charge gave her weak smile before gently asking, "So how have you been?"

"I'm still online. I'm just worried about Zettabyte," Arcee sighed.

"Zettabyte?" Jack echoed in confusion.

"That's the name of the Cybertronian who Bulkhead chased off," the female titan confessed. "He was around Bee's age."

"Why did he chase him off?" Jack asked with surprise and pity.

"He said some things that Bulkhead didn't like," the sapphire femme stated.

"Such as?" the human teen pressed. Arcee sighed; her partner had her where he wanted her and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. She had no choice but to tell him.

"He talked about ending the war in peace without killing anymore Cons and he told us who his adoptive Si-father was," she explained, recalling the human term for Sire.

"That's it?" the pubescent male human asked sounding both bewildered and appalled.

"It gets worse. Zettabyte was wearing a visor and when it fell off, we saw that he had a blue optics and a red optic," Arcee finished.

Jack seemed even more disgusted as he spoke, "So, in Bulkhead's view, having different views and looks constitutes being chased away?"

"Looks like it," the two-wheeler snorted in anger.

"And you guys can't find him?" the obsidian-haired teen guessed gently.

"We can't get his energy signature. We're worried, I'm worried, that the Cons grabbed him," she admitted. "His pod was moved by Agent Fowler so there's no way he could have left the planet. But no one, human or bot, just vanishes out of thin air."

Placing a hand on her handle, as she was still in motorcycle form, Jack said, "Like you said, it'll be okay. You'll find him. I know it."

Despite being in vehicle mode, Arcee couldn't help but smile. And somehow, she knew that Jack could sense it.

 _Four hours later at Sasha's house; Sasha's Perspective_

Midnight mewled as Sasha prepared for her and Zetta's little adventure.

"Be patient. We'll be going in a few minutes," Sasha told the cat with a smile. She had taken a spare backpack, which was black and electric blue with dark purple zippers, and filled it with essentials; first aid kit, a blanket, a towel, a flashlight with extra batteries, the Swiss Army knife that her grandfather had given her, a magnifying glass, binoculars, her phone, yogurt-covered raisins, dried apricots, a sports water bottle with crushed iron supplements in it, granola bars, and two cans of Purina cat food.

Along with her cargo, she changed into a light brown shirt with dark brown, white, and gray silhouettes of horses running on the front, khaki pants, her black rubber boots, and a green camouflage sweater with a hood that had a black skull with black crossbones on the back. She had decided to let her hair down as well. She had chosen her fingernails had been painted a dark forest green and she wore key-lime pie lip balm.

The raven-haired girl had already had lunch; a quesadilla with spinach, cheddar, and tomato between two flour tortillas, grapes, a strawberry and banana yogurt smoothie, and some celery and carrot sticks. She and Zettabyte had both decided on going to the Redwood Forest. Seasonal wise, it was still late summer and she wanted to show her Cybertronian friend the lush green of a forest before it gave way to the colors and feeling of autumn. She had informed the Sandersons that she would be going out and would be back around late evening or early night. By some chance of luck, they had chosen to go out after the Goth announced what she would be doing. Luckily, they had a friend come over in advance to watch Miko who was confined to her room to study her notes.

Once she made sure that she had everything she needed and that all the doors and windows were shut and locked, she made her way to the garage with the backpack over her shoulders and Midnight in her arms. Her friends and grandmother had been unsurprisingly supportive of her choice to keep Midnight and promised not to tell her parents. Sasha did take their advice of bringing the feline with her wherever she went to avoid the Sandersons finding her if they ever came to the house while she was away. While they may have been kind enough to take her side when she told them what Miko did, she knew that, like most adults she knew, were skeptical when it came to her, or any other teen for that matter, bringing in strays.

Closing the inside door, the nature-lover walked towards Zettabyte, who was in vehicle mode, opened his passenger door, and got inside. Using the remote, she opened the garage door. Carefully, the mechling backed out of the garage. The Goth kept her eyes on the Sandersons house, watching for any signs of someone peeking out through the windows. Thankfully, there was none. After her mechanical friend was completely out of the garage, she took out the remote to close the garage door, placed it into her backpack, and then they were off.

 _Twenty-minutes on the Nemesis; Third Person Perspective_

The Decepticons had been having a relatively adequate stroke of good luck for the past week. They hadn't lost any Eradicons or Vehicons, they had managed to bring in large and efficient harvests of Energon without Autobot intervention, the Decepticon warlord had yet to yell or berate them that week, and Breakdown had sent Silas and his soldiers packing and Bulkhead back to the Autobots in dents and gashes. The only thing that was currently bothering them was not knowing the whereabouts of the ruby and sapphire mechling. Finding out that his adoptive Sire was…awkward at best for them.

"Do you think the kid's okay Knock Out? He hasn't contacted us since he left," the ex-Wrecker asked his vain partner. The two were currently in the Command Center with Soundwave who was, of course, checking the console, not paying attention to either of his two fellow Decepticons.

"I'm sure. He's probably just so entranced by this planet, he hasn't considered calling us," Knock Out explained though he didn't believe his own words. Along with the concern he felt for the mechling's welfare there was another reason. He couldn't shake the adolescent Cybertronian's unusual resemblance to him and Arcee out of his processor.

"Maybe I should get a search party and go out to look for him," Breakdown stated out loud.

Despite inwardly agreeing, Knock Out shook his helm and responded, "If you do that then Lord Megatron will do more than just yell at you."

As if the Decepticon CMO said the magic word, the ex-gladiator himself walked in. Everyone in the room bowed before straightening their postures, the silver mech only nodding at their respectful movements. He stoically made his way to stand beside his focused TIC.

"Any signs of Autobot activity yet Soundwave?" Megatron asked coolly.

The screen-faced mech turned to his master and shook his helm while sending a quiet static sound that obviously meant "no."

The warlord rumbled lowly, "It would appear that the Autobots have yet to make any moves to interrupt our progress. If I wasn't so pleased I would almost feel insulted."

A few of the drones laughed before quickly silencing themselves to not aggravate their leader and superiors.

"Still," the silver mech spoke, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt for us to-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a comm. ping resonating from Soundwave. Everyone turned to look at Soundwave as he answered the comm. and set it on the Cybertronian equivalent of speaker.

Immediately, a familiar voice echoed through the Command Center, [Hello? Soundwave? Can you bridge me to these coor-]

"Zettabyte?" Breakdown asked though he knew it was indeed the mechling that he and Knock Out were talking about just minutes before.

[Oh, Hello Breakdown,] the mechling greeted via the silent mech's comm.

"Zettabyte, what a surprise. It's good to hear from you," the former gladiator proclaimed, his gruff voice making hard for his sincerity and rare warmth to be heard.

[Well it's good to hear you as well Lord Megatron,] the adolescent Cybertronian said as politely as he could.

"Are you alright? Do you need help? Do you want to come on to the ship?" the Stunticon asked in a hurried tone laced with concern.

[Oh, no thank you,] Zettabyte declined politely over the comm. [I was actually hoping if Soundwave could bridge me to another area on Earth. I believed it's called the Redwood Forest. I am sending the coordinates of where I'm currently at to him right now.]

"Ah, I see that someone is being adventurous," Knock Out spoke coolly with a humorous tone.

[Well I just want to see what the more vegetation covered areas of Earth look like,] the ruby and sapphire mechling stated in a casual tone.

The silver mech slowly made his way to where Soundwave was. He looked at the screen with his TIC and blinked in surprise. The screen-faced mech had taken the coordinates that Zettabyte had sent but was greeted with an unusual surprise. No life signal was being detected in that area.

"Zettabyte," the warlord spoke carefully, "Are you certain you gave Soundwave the right coordinates?"

[Yes, I doubled check before sending them. Why?] the adolescent Cybertronian asked in confusion with a hint of nervousness. By this time, the vain medic and his assistant also came over to see the issue.

"We are not seeing any life signals in the area you claim to be in," the former gladiator stated calmly but still bewildered.

[What?] Zettabyte choked in utter confusion. [T-That can't be right.]

"Kid, we're looking at it right now," the former Wrecker put in.

Megatron's bright scarlet optics narrowed at the screen before he turned and gave the silent mech a nod with a look that said "you know what to do." Soundwave nodded back as Laserbeak came undone from his chassis and headed to the coordinates that the screen-faced mech got from the mechling.

"Zettabyte we're sending Soundwave's spy Mini-Con, Laserbeak, to your coordinates," the silver mech announced.

[Is that necessary? Sending a drone to see where I am? I-I'm not lying about my location,] the mechling stuttered, sounding even more nervous.

"It's just to make sure," Knock Out soothed over the comm.

Soundwave immediately attached the connection of the feed Laserbeak was getting to the console screen. The four mechs saw rocky formations and miles of desert as the Mini-Con flew over the landscape. As the small flyer came closer to the coordinates they all leaned in closer. They were greeted with the sight of the ruby and sapphire mechling standing and looking around in the exact coordinated spot that he sent them. When Zettabyte caught sight of Laserbeak, he stared at the Mini-Con and waved sheepishly. Breakdown and Knock Out let out silent sighs of relief while the Decepticon TIC and their leader relaxed.

"We do see that you're at the coordinates you provided us with. We're sorry for the inconvenience Zettabyte. Soundwave open a bridge for him," the former gladiator ordered cooly to which the silent mech obeyed.

[It's alright sir. I'll alert you when I wish to be bridge back to Jasper. Thank you,] the ruby and sapphire mechling said gratefully. The mechs watched via screen as the Zettabyte waited for a moment before the swirling green of a Groundbridge appeared and he walked through it before it disappeared.

Not too soon after the bridge closed, the Decepticon CMO smacked the console in aggravation, "Slaggin' console. Something must be wrong with the scanner. That's probably why we didn't see Zetta's life signal."

"Perhaps," the Decepticon leader agreed coolly before leaving the Comman Center.

 _In the Redwood Forest three minutes; Third Person Perspective_

"Primus that was close. Sasha, are you and Midnight alright?" the metallic alien youth asked as he stepped out of the Groundbridge portal as it disappeared behind him.

The raven-haired girl, who had been hiding against her guardian's neck, groaned as she tried to shake the dizziness from her body. She hadn't been expecting the portal took make her feel so dazed. She immediately pushed aside her fatigue to check on their feline companion. Opening the small gap in her backpack even more, Sasha peered in to see the female Burmese look back at her with sleepy mismatched eyes.

"You okay Midnight?" the nature-lover asked kindly to the little mammal.

"Mrowr," the feline mewled calmly before shutting her eyes as to get some more sleep.

"She's fine," Sasha confirmed before zipping her backpack up, leaving a safe portion unzipped so the cat could breathe.

"Good," Zettabyte responded sincerely.

The Goth nodded before looking at their surroundings and saying, "Oh Zetta, look at how beautiful this place is."

The mechling looked around and found himself agreeing with his human friend. Large trees were everywhere and while a few did have hints of yellowing or reddening leaves, most of them had branches wrapped in dark emerald-colored leaves. Sunlight just barely peeked through the leaves, creating specs on the ground. There were different plants dotting the ground as well and a couple of dirt paths. Zettabyte sniffed the air, surprised but not displeased, by the rich, earthy scent of the forest. He inhaled and exhaled before grinning widely.

"You like it?" the nature-lover asked as she the relaxed and content look on the Cybertronian adolescent's face.

Zettabyte nodded eagerly, "Yes. It's so…soothing and welcoming here."

Sasha chuckled happily as she responded, "That's one of mother nature's gifts to you my friend. Let's go."

The robotic extraterrestrial youth nodded eagerly as he walked forward. The soil beneath his pedes was more soft yet sturdy unlike the gritty and loose sandy ground of the desert. While he did feel an occasional twig, it didn't bother him. He turned his helm around to see more as he passed, including flowers and butterflies. The ruby and sapphire mechling had to stop when a yellow and red butterfly landed in the middle of his faceplate before taking off. He was so surprised, yet overjoyed, that he laughed.

Sasha laughed as well, pleased to see her guardian so happy around a woodsy location. It felt good to hang out with someone who enjoyed such natural things as well. Even if that someone wasn't human.

Taking out her phone, the raven-haired girl asked politely, "Hey Zetta, can let me onto the ground? I wanna take up close pictures and I can't do that while I'm standing on your shoulder."

Zettabyte happily obliged as he carefully set her on the ground and continues walking, slowly his pace a bit to stay beside his charge should any danger arise. The two kept walking for a couple of minutes before a small gray and tan creature appeared.

"Oh my Gosh, it's a gray fox," the Goth breathed as prepped her phone to snap a picture.

"A _urocyon cinereoargenteus_ ," the mechling spoke up. "I heard they can climb trees."

As if to prove the Cybertronian youth's point, the creature jumped onto a tree trunk after Sasha snapped a picture and began climbing. Both pubescent individuals chuckled before they continued on their way. The walk was quiet as they took in the scenery, the only sound being the twittering of birds, the breeze rustling the leaves, and the clicks of the raven-haired girl's phone as she took pictures.

An hour passed as they kept walking. By this time, Midnight had woken up from her cat nap and wanted to walk herself. Sasha had then let her out of the backpack before they proceeded. A few times they had to retrieve her when she tried to chase after a butterfly but otherwise, the Burmese was well-behaved and obedient. As Zettabyte stopped to stretch his arms and once again inhale the almost-intoxicating, organic aroma of the forest when he heard Sasha's ecstatic whisper.

"Zetta, come over here! Quick!" she hissed excitedly. The mechling wasted no time in hurrying to his partner's side to see what she was so joyful about. As he got to where she was, he saw what exactly she was making a fuss about. She was staring at a medium large clear space just a few meters in front of them. In the middle of it was a small herd of deer; three bucks, five does, and four fawns. All were oblivious to the human, cat, and Cybertronian's presence.

"Black-tailed deer," the nature-lover breathed as she watched them softly.

" _Odocoileus hemionus columbianus_ ," the Cybertronian adolescent gasped staring at the large (by human standards) mammals with their smoky black tails. Midnight just gave a quiet mewl as she rubbed against the Goth's leg.

After a moment of watching them, Sasha spoke, "Let's get a closer look. Quietly."

Zettabyte couldn't help but nod as he and the raven-haired girl carefully crept towards the herd. However, the pubescent titan had stepped on a rather large dead branch that was on the ground which made a somewhat large snap. The deer all snapped their heads to look at the towering, mechanical extraterrestrial.

"Slag," Zettabyte cursed underneath his breath but continued to hold still alongside his human charge. The deer continued to stare at him when one of the fawns took a few timid steps towards the odd trio.

"Stay calm, Zetta," the nature-lover whispered reassuringly. Once the fawn was about three feet away, the mechling boldly reached a servo towards it. The fawn didn't flinch as Zettabyte offered it his servo. The young woodland critter sniffed one of the Cybertronian adolescent's digits before licking it.

"Looks like you made a friend," Sasha joked good-naturedly as she smiled at the scene and snapping a picture.

"Well I don't mind," the metallic youth chuckled.

"Mrowr," Midnight meowed as she moved toward the fawn who had ceased licking the titan's finger. The two mammals sniffed at each other until one of the does, most likely the fawn's mother, gave a soft call to the little one who returned to her side. Not a minute later, the herd left the clearing.

As the odd trio began leaving as well in the opposite direction, Zettabyte spoke, "Sasha?"

"Hmmm?" the raven-haired girl hummed questioningly.

The robotic titan grinned, "I'm really glad I came to this planet."

Sasha smiled back, "Well I'm glad you came."

 _Three hours later; Third Person Perspective_

The Sun still shone above as it became mid-afternoon. Sasha had eaten her yogurt-covered raisins, apricots, a few of her granola bars, and drank half of her water while Midnight had eaten from one of the cans.

"Hey Zetta, aren't you hungry? I mean, doesn't your kind need that Energon stuff you told me about? Or some of those rust sticks and other Cybertronian treats?" the Goth asked curiously.

"Rust sticks and other Cybertronian delicacies stopped being made when the war started and I don't have any Energon on me. I haven't had any since I left the _Nemesis_. Come to think of it, I haven't felt hungry since that day," Zettabyte responded, a bit shocked himself.

Suddenly the raven-haired girl felt concern for her partner as she spoke, "Maybe we should head back. You can drop me off and go get checked by that medic you told me about. Knock Out is his name right?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to cut the nature walk short," the mechling replied back.

But Sasha shook her head and said, "I think we walked enough for today. What matters is making sure you're healthy and there's nothing wrong internally."

Zettabyte smiled sincerely as he said, "Thank you."

Sasha smiled back as she spoke, "You're welcome. Hey, do you think we'll be okay if you're in vehicle mode and I'm in the backseat when you call Soundwave? That way if he sends Laserbeak again, I'm well-hidden?"

"You know what? That might actually work!" the Cybertronian adolescent proclaimed as he changed n to Vehicle mode and allowed his human charge and the female feline into his backseat. However, just as the ruby and sapphire mechling prepared to comm. the Decepticon TIC, they heard a noise. It was a combination of talking, laughing, and human-sized footsteps treading the forest floor.

"Shoot, campers," the Goth hissed before turning to her partner, "Zetta drive!"

Not caring if the campers heard him or not, Zettabyte's tires squealed as they scrambled for traction on the soft dirt and his engine roared before he took off. Sasha buckled herself and held the alarmed Midnight close as her guardian sped down a dirt path. Out of nowhere, a dark, foggy emerald portal, unlike the blue-green portal of a Groundbridge, opened before the speeding mechling. Unable to stop in time, the mechling zoomed through it.

Both human and Cybertronian screamed as the vision was blurred by equally emerald wisps. The female Burmese yowled in terror by the sudden, frightening change of scenery. Two minutes of this panicking went by before it stopped and they found themselves in a totally strange location. Letting Sasha and Midnight out of the backseat, Zettabyte transformed and the three of them looked around their new surroundings.

There was emerald fog covering the empty spaces in a swirling pattern. They stood on a large flat, rock surface. They saw similar platforms _floating_ a couple of meters away with _nothing_ underneath to support them. Looking around more thoroughly they saw doors floating much like the platforms. Most were dark lilac but others were white with pillars and came in all shapes and sizes. The last unnerving thing they noticed was that it was eerily quiet.

"Sasha…d-do you know where we are?" the mechanical extraterrestrial asked with an unsure stutter.

"I have absolutely no idea where we are," the nature-lover answered back just as uneasy.

That's when they heard an unfamiliar male voice say, "You're in the Ghost Zone."

Midnight twitsed around hissing, her fur standing straight up. Sasha and Zettabyte turned around more slowly. That's when they came face to face with a group of bots.

There were eight, three mechs and five femmes. The mech in the middle looked two be only older than Zettabyte but very much younger than the other two mechs. He was cobalt, silver, and dark gray with indigo optics on a snowy white faceplate. He had a lithe but strong built and had a black skull painted on his cobalt chassis and clawed servos. He also had a pale royal blue cloak with black flames on it.

The next mech looked to be the same age as Knock Out. He was more muscular than the first mech but still slim and had spider-like appendages not unlike Airachnid's. He was dark crimson and light gray with amber colored optics on a grayish white faceplate and a silver diamond on his chassis. He had spikes on his shoulders and neck and strong looking servos with sharp tips.

The last mech looked to be the same age as the crimson mech if not a bit older and had a similar build. He was light violet, lavender and black with a blood red optics on a cyan face with lightning bolt shaped scar on the left optic. He wore a dark iris purple cloak and a symbol that looked like a combination between a clock and a gear was on his chassis. His servos weren't as clawed.

The femmes all looked to be a bit older than Arcee. The one farthest to the trio's left was a light apple green and white with portions of sky blue and tan. She was build elegant and curvy and she had audio finials that were shaped like that of dove wings. She had a dark green optics on a silvery faceplate with equally dark green lip plates. On her arms were what looked to be small vines with leaves. She had a pale blue flower like symbol on her chassis.

The femme next to her was black, juniper green, and eggplant purple. She has wicked sharp features to go with her lithe body. Her dark grass-green optics were set on a dark gray faceplate with wine colored lip platess. She had a grasshopper green raindrop symbol on her chassis with a lavender swirl on the inside.

The next femme was pale azure and light rose red with some soft white on her. She had a soft cerulean optics on a cloud white faceplate with blush pink lip plates. She stood in a stoic noble fashion with her elegant build and wise gaze. On her chassis was a gold flame symbol with creamy orange wings on either side.

The femme closest to the crimson mech was shamrock green and gold with some hints of black. She had powder blue optics on a silvery faceplate with golden lip plates. She looked very calm and serene had a servo on her enlarge abdomen-a sign that she was heavily sparked. The crimson mech had an arm around her waist and on her chassis was a silvery spade symbol.

The last femme stood beside the blue-cloaked mech. She was a clean white and baby blue with hints of silver. She had Periwinkle blue optics with a hint of pale lavender on a pale gray face with pale cotton candy pink lips. She had some soft looking silvery white material in certain area like her neck and shoulders. She had clawed servos, though not as clawed as the blue-cloaked mech's servos. Her helm had triangular parts that looked like ears. A Persian blue paw print with little claws on the tips lay on her chassis.

It was then that Zettabyte found his voice and stuttered out, "W-Who are you?"

The blue-cloaked mech stepped forward and spoke in a calm and cool voice, "You are in the Ghost Zone. I am Nephilus."

Based on his voice, the three could tell he was the one who had spoken to them before they turned around.

"I am Karmaro," the crimson mech spoke in deeper but friendly tone.

"I am Jadeluck. I'm Karmaro's mate," the femme next to Karmaro said politely.

"I am Venomarra," the dark femme spoke in slightly aloof tone.

"I am Dracorra," the rose and azure femme spoke firmly with a noble tinge.

"I am Terrana," the apple green femme said kindly.

"I am Riversong," the white and pale blue femme said softly.

"And I am Clockwork," the purple-cloaked mech said wisely. "We've been waiting for you Zettabyte."

"H-How do you know my name?" the ruby and sapphire mechling asked in surprise.

"I have always known your name. As I have known Sasha and Midnight's names," Clockwork said gently.

"What kind of bots are you guys?" Sasha asked as politely as she could. She had picked up the slightly relaxed Midnight and held her close to her chest.

"You misunderstand. These aren't really our true forms," Terrana explained carefully. "We take these forms to bring familiarity and comfort to Zettabyte here. We are spirits. I am the spirit of nature. Karmaro is the spirit of justice and vengeance. Jadeluck is the spirit of good and bad fortune. Venomarra is the spirit of potions, elixirs, and hexes. Dracorra is the spirit of dragons and phoenixes. Clockwork is the spirit of time. Nephilus is the guider of souls. And Riversong is our messenger and protector of sorts."

"Why me?" the Cybertronian adolescent asked, fear now replaced with curiosity.

"You, my boy, are very special," Karmaro stated with an encouraging smile. "You're a halfa."

"A what?" the raven-haired girl and mechanical titan asked in confused unison.

"A half is a creature that can switch between being alive and being a ghost," Jadeluck clarified in a motherly tone.

After a moment of thinking, Zettabyte spoke up, "So every time I change into that other look, I'm actually changing-"

"Into a ghost, yes," Riversong finished for him. "It gets easy to accept after a while."

"But how?" the metallic youth questioned just went it hit him. "The blast from M.E.C.H…"

"Yes. It hit you with ectoplasmic energy that fused with your CNA," Clockwork confirmed.

The mechling would have fallen back in complete shock if Dracorra hadn't come to his side to steady him. Midnight, no longer scared, jumped out of Sasha's arms and took a stepped towards the group. Venomarra coolly leaned down and stroked the feline down her back, which the Burmese very much liked and even purred happily, bringing a small smile to Venomarra's face.

"It also explains why your appetite hasn't come up or why other Cybertronians can't sense your life signal," Nephilus added. "Your body will run on your ecto-energy until you consume some sustenance and your ghost half creates a signal-dampener that keeps you safe from being detected. You can turn it off by will and turn it back off as you choose. And there will be times where your metabolism changes and you'll be hungry every hour or two."

"Also, thanks to your powers, you have high pain tolerance, faster reflexes and speed, stronger hits, more focus and agility, and stronger senses, even when you aren't in your ghost half," Dracorra put in as she returned to the side of her compatriots.

As the pubescent robotic extraterrestrial listened to all of this, he heard a child's giggled and stared in shock at the group. Karmaro and Jadeluck smiled at each other before they parted to show two younglings, both very much smaller than the adults and the adolescent. One looked exactly like Karmaro but lacked his father's spikes and only had the spider appendages which folded behind his back. The second youngling was a bit shorter and looked like his brother but had his mother's optics, faceplates, and gold trim. Neither had a symbol on their chassis.

"These are our sons; Vendett is the oldest and Jinx is the youngest. Until our newest bundle comes into the world," Jadeluck said as she pointed to them to indicate the first youngling as Vendett and the smaller one as Jinx before her servos returned to her rounded abdomen. "Say hello you two."

"Hi," Jinx smiled naively and shyly.

"Hello," Vendett said politely but in a less shy manner.

"Well hello to you two as well," Zettabyte said in a friendly manner before turning to the spirits.

"So is the Ghost Zone where all living beings go when they die?" the Goth asked carefully.

"Well it's where they go to stay until they decide to pass on. Sometimes they stay here indefinitely by choice. But in a way, yes. This where those who depart the world of the living come," Venomarra clarified for the human girl.

"We sense that you three have more questions," Clockwork stated as both human and Cybertronian nodded. "Unfortunately, it will have to wait until next time. We all have duties that affect the world of the living and if we don't get back to them soon…well…it'll get messy."

"Can't we stay a bit longer?" Sasha begged, her shock and fright was now replaced with total curiosity and slight excitement.

"You may…next time. When you visit us in our own areas. Nephilus will show you next time you come," Terrana reassured.

Nephilus took out a large, silver clasp like bracelet and put it on Zettabyte's wrist. In the middle was a green gem with glyphs around it.

"What's this?" the mechling asked curiously.

"It's a bracelet that will allow you to come here. Just twist the glyphs to the right three times, like a human decoder ring, and a portal will come up," the blue-cloaked mech explained. "Also it will allow you to tell when your life signal is uncovered when the gem turns violet. And if you're wondering how you do that, it's easy; just imagine an orb of energy breaking out of a glass case. To turn it off, just imagine the orb going into a glass case."

"We really must be going now. We'll see you three again," Riversong promised. The same portal they drove through before appeared. As soon as it did, the spirits disappeared, leaving the three alone.

Picking up his charge and the feline, Zettabyte walked over to the portal, stared at it for a moment, and then walked through it. Unlike when they came in, it was more calm and less eerie. It was almost like the Groundbridge. When the odd trio made it out, they stood in the same clearing that they saw the deer in. Thankfully, there was no campers.

"Zetta," the raven-haired girl croaked. "Did that just happen?"

"Yes. Yes it did," Zettabyte stated softly.

"Mrowr," Midnight mewled quietly.

Looking down at the bracelet, the Cybertronian adolescent offlined his optics and focused. He imagined blackness. Then he saw a green orb in a case. Cracks formed around the case before shattering, allowing the orb to fly out freely. Onlining his optics, he looked down and saw that the gem had turned violet.

"That wasn't so hard," Zettabyte said, smiling to himself as he transformed. "But just in case."

The nature-lover could only nod as she scooped up the female Burmese and got in her guardian's backseat while he called for a Groundbridge.

"This is Zettabyte. I need a Groundbridge back to Jasper, please," the ruby and sapphire mechling said through the comm. A moment passed before the blue-green portal opened up before him. That's when he heard a voice intercept his comm. to Soundwave. It was Knock Out.

[Hey kiddo, how was your little day trip?] the Decepticon CMO asked coolly with interest.

"It was nice," the Cybertronian youth replied calmly.

[Well that's good. Did you make an adventure out of it?] the vain medic asked with an air of curiosity.

Zettabyte replied in the most nonchalant tone he could muster, "You might say that…"

 _Fourteen minutes later at Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

The robotic extraterrestrial adolescent pulled into the garage and allowed his human friend and female feline. Sasha opened closed the garage door and opened the inside door, allowing Midnight in first.

"I can't believe it. We were surrounded by real spirits!" Sasha exclaimed to her mechanical friend in amazement.

"I can't believe that I'm practically half dead," Zettabyte spoke aloud before looking down with a sad bitterness. "What does that make me other than a bigger freak than I am?"

Sasha's eyes softened with sympathy as she walked up to her friend and placed a hand on against his servo before saying firmly but encouragingly, "Don't say that. It makes you unique. It gives you an advantage to rise above your doubts. But most of all, it gives you the courage to be happy with who you are and, in time, show it to those around you."

Zettabyte smiled at her before speaking, "Thank you, Sasha."

"There's no need to thank me. You're my friend and I'll always be on your side," the Goth told him gently. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take a warm shower and change into some comfortable clothing."

"Of course," the mechling said politely as he allowed her to go back inside whilst he took the time to gather his thoughts.

 _Twenty minutes later; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha gave Midnight water as she finished her cup of Yoplait peach yogurt. After a quick shower, the raven-haired girl was now dressed in dark burgundy tank top and black shorts with red flames on them and aubergine socks. As she prepared to walk back to her room she was stopped when she saw that the voicemail box had one new message. Curious she played it and listened.

The recording of a female voice came out saying, _**{Hello Sasha Morgan. This is Officer Linda Fanzone calling from the Jasper Police Department. I'm leaving this message to inform you that your electric bike, which was in the care of a Jackson Darby, was reported stolen this morning. We are currently looking for the perpetrator and we will call you if anything turns up.}**_

The raven-haired girl felt her heart sink as the message ended. She had been so relieved about getting her bike back and focused on spending the day with Zettabyte that she forgotten about Jack discovering the bike was gone.

"Shoot. I guess I better fix that," she muttered to herself, grabbing the phone and dialing the number before listening and waiting for someone to pick up.

Thankfully, after three rings, a male voice answered, **"Hello?"**

"Hello, this is Sasha Morgan. Is a Officer Linda Fanzone there? I would like to speak with her," the Goth asked carefully.

" **No, I'm sorry. She's out with another officer to respond to disturbance. Can I take a message?"** the male officer asked politely.

"Yes, thank you. She called me earlier about my bike being stolen while it was in the care of my classmate, Jack Darby. I have a confession. I have the bike," the nature-lover stated calmly.

" **I'm sorry, what?"** the officer questioned, sounding a bit confused.

"I got mad at him the day before. My family owns the auto shop in town, so I asked the employees if they could go to his house and retrieve my bike for me. It was out of anger and I shouldn't have done it. I apologize for causing you or your fellow officers any trouble," Sasha replied in an apologetic tone. "Also, would you mind giving me Jack Darby's house phone number so I may call him, please?"

" **Yes, you may. Thank you for being honest. I'll tell Officer Fanzone when she comes back,"** the male officer responded back professionally and respectfully before telling her the Darby phone number.

"Thank you," Sasha said gratefully as she wrote it down and hung up.

"Sasha?" the voice of Zettabyte called out. Taking the house phone with her, the raven-haired girl walked to the inside door, opened it, and found her partner looking worriedly at her.

"Zetta? What is it?" Sasha asked with concern.

"Is everything alright? I heard you talking with someone," the mechling explained shyly.

"The police left a message saying that Jack reported my bike stolen. I called them up and told them that I had the auto shop employees went to get it for me. Now I need to call Jack and tell him the same thing," the Goth told her mechanical friend before realizing something. "Wait you heard me while I was in the hallway?"

"Well, the door kind of made it hard but I did hear some of what you were saying," the metallic extraterrestrial youth confessed bashfully.

Sasha stared at her partner before it clicked and she said, "They were right. Your senses are sharper now."

Zettabyte blinked and smiled a bit, "I guess that is proof, isn't it?"

The nature-lover gave a bewildered smile before turning to focus on calling her classmate. Pushing in the number that the officer had given her, she waited for someone to answer. However, after five rings, it went immediately to voicemail.

 _ **{Darby residence. Please leave a message,}**_ the recording a woman's voice says, most likely Jack's mother.

Suppressing a small groan of exasperation, Sasha spoke, "Hey Jack, it's Sasha. The police told me about my bike. Listen, it's not stolen. I have it. I was so angry that I asked my uncle's employees to go by your and get it. Looking back, I realize that it was out of line and I'm sorry. I was so angry at Miko that I took it out on you, which I shouldn't have done in the first place. I already told the police the truth so you don't have to. Call me back if you want. By the way, thanks for fixing my bike. See you at school tomorrow."

As soon as she hung up, she turned to her titan friend and asked, "So, what do you feel like doing now?"

 _Four hours later at Jack's house; Jack's Perspective_

Jack sighed as he stepped into his house. His time at the base today was one of his more unpleasant visits. After having breakfast with his mom, Arcee took him to work which, thankfully, wasn't so hectic that day. The two-wheeler then took him to the base right after, as his mother was doing yet another graveyard shift. Raf was there early too, having come earlier. Things were peaceful until Bulkhead came in from morning patrol with Optimus. The femme had given her leader a short greeting before going to her quarters.

The obsidian-haired teen had tried to ignore the obvious aggravated mood that the moss-colored Wrecker was in but to no avail. Even the pre-teen computer prodigy sensed Bulkhead's ire, wincing every time the large mech passed behind them as the two male human youths tried to focus on their video game. Raf left two hours prior to Jack's departure. Not that the obsidian-haired teen could blame him. Bumblebee had been just as uneasy while Optimus and Ratchet spoke in the next room, no doubt discussing about what they should do about their feuding team mates.

Jack had to go and knock on Arcee's berthroom door and say that he wished to be taken home. She obliged, as calm as when she first picked him up that morning. She had transformed right after exiting her room and allowed Jack on. He had felt her tense when they passed Bulkhead and drove through the tunnel. The ride was, for the majority, quiet. Once they arrived at his house and Jack got to the door, the sapphire femme drove off after muttering something along the lines of "I'm going for a drive. See you tomorrow."

Just as he had gotten in and closed the door, planning to start go over his homework, he saw that there was a new message in the voicemail. Curiously, he played it and was surprised when he heard a familiar voice.

 _ **{Hey Jack, it's Sasha.}**_

 _Ten minutes later at Sasha's house; Sasha's Perspective_

"That teddy bear isn't so cuddly," Zettabyte said, wincing at the pinkish magenta teddy bear on his human friend's laptop screen.

"My grandma said the same thing," Sasha laughed. After some careful consideration, the Goth decided that watching Netflix would be a safe and fun activity. Feeling nostalgic, she opted for the _Toy Story_ trilogy. She grinned as the mechling became more intrigued in the movies. He even fidgeted with curiosity as she had paused near the end of the second film to fix herself a dinner of homemade sweet potato fries and marinated tofu with garlic bread and a grape soda. Now she was finished with her meal as they were in the middle of the third film. Midnight laid in her lap, fast asleep. Just as she was about to take her dishes to the kitchen she heard ringing. It was then that she realized that it was coming from the house phone, which she forgot to put back inside the house.

Pausing the movie, and making a gesture for her guardian to keep silent as she answered, "Hello?"

" **Hey Sasha, it's Jack,"** the obsidian-haired boy's voice said from the other side.

"Oh, hey Jack," the nature-lover responded. "I guess you got my message."

" **Yeah, I did. I'm just calling to tell you that I forgive you. And that I'm sorry for not stopping Miko on Friday,"** Jack said, his soft voice holding a tint of guilt.

"Well, you were still being a better person for helping me," the raven-haired girl responded back. "Plus, you did a great job on my bike, so thank you again."

" **You're welcome,"** the male teen replied. **"So, see you tomorrow at school?"**

"Yes. Have a great night," Sasha said kindly.

" **You too,"** the junior student stated.

As the Goth hung up she carefully lifted Midnight off her lap and handed her to the mechling to hold while she took the phone and dishes inside to their respective places.

When she got back, she sat back down and smiled at Zettabyte, "Now where were we?"

 _Three hours later; Sasha's Perspective_

As she checked one last time to make sure her mechanical friend was resting, she made her way upstairs. Once she had made sure that she had everything set for tomorrow and Midnight was safe in her bedroom, she went into the bathroom. While she opened the cabinet to get out the toothpaste and face wash, she saw an electric razor and a squeeze tube of amethyst hair dye. She recalled her Aunt Lizzie telling her how she wanted to try styling her hair to feel more "juvenile" but that her Uncle Ted talked her out of it. Her gaze remained on the two objects as she recalled what she told Zettabyte hours earlier.

" _It's good to be different. It makes you unique."_

Why not follow her own advice? She was in a new place with new friends. Temporarily but still. Why not take a chance and do all of the things she never got to do before?

Looking at the two objects one more time, she grabbed them as she told herself, "I'm doing it."

Hello! Sorry for the late update. College has been hectic. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and like the upcoming Halloween and Day of the Dead TF fics coming up. No, I didn't genderbend Fanzone. It's a reference/minor OC and it's a bit of a surprise. And don't worry, you'll be seeing more of the spirit OCs I showed you in this chapter. I don't own any movies, food brands, or media entertainment (Netflix). Don't like it, don't read. Haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Until next time, Happy Reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Another Day, Another Confrontation

All Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. The Ghost Zone, Clockwork, and halfa idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life brands, books, songs, etc. are not mine. I only own my OCs and my fic ideas. Don't like, hit the back button. Everyone else, enjoy.

Warning: Some slight character bashing, slight OCXOC, and morbid descriptions.

 _The next morning outside school; Third Person Perspective_

The sky was still shades of pink, orange, and yellow when the hybrid car pulled up by the school. Only three students sat on the steps, none of them taking notice of the unfamiliar vehicle a few meters away. Inside the car, the raven-haired girl looked uncertainly at the building.

Sensing her discomfort, Zettabyte spoke, "You know Sasha, I can take you home. I'm sure your teachers and friends would understand."

However, the Goth shook her head firmly as she answered, "No, I'll be alright."

Now it was the mechling in disguise's turn to be uncertain as he responded, "If you say so. Are you sure you can handle taking Midnight with you and avoid letting her be seen?"

The creature in question sat silently in the nature-lover's backpack, head peeking out the gap Sasha left so she could breathe. The feline gave a quiet purr as the raven-haired girl petted her head and gave her a small scratch behind the ears.

"I'm sure," Sasha reassured as she opened the door, put her backpack over her shoulders, and got out of Zettabyte's passenger side door. "I'll see you after school. Have great day. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Sasha. You have a great day yourself. I'll be right here when you get out," the neutral youth said kindly to his friend as she waved at him before the two went their separate ways.

 _Thirty-minutes later in the front of the school; Jack's Perspective_

Jack waved goodbye to his guardian as she sped away after dropping him off. He spotted Raf on the steps and went to join him. As usual, the brown-haired preteen was immersed in his computer. Upon sensing the older student approaching him, Raf closed his laptop and turned towards him.

"Good morning Jack," the computer prodigy greeted with a friendly smile.

"Hey Raf. Have you seen Miko?" the onyx-haired teen asked.

"She hasn't arrived yet. It's weird. She's always here before Arcee drops you off," Raf stated.

"That's because Bulkhead drives her and gets here before Arcee and I. It's probably gonna be like this until she's no longer grounded," the junior student shrugged.

As mean as it sounded, it didn't feel any pity for Miko when she told him and the preteen genius that she was grounded. Oh, he did give her sympathy whenever she got detention (he knew how Vince's bullying could make even the most well-behaved students snap and do something reckless) but being grounded was another thing. While he didn't know the Sandersons very well, he could understand that dealing with the rebellious girl was probably one of the most hardest things they had on their agenda. It didn't help that the couple were longing for the return of their son. Not to mention that the onyx-haired teen still felt ashamed of her for tricking Sasha. The fact that Miko sounded like she cared more about being "unfairly" punished than the fact that her decisions could have gotten her acquaintance (captive if you really think about it) hurt or worse aggravated him more than slightly.

Just then, he saw a familiar coming. It was the Sandersons' navy blue Ford. The car came to a stop in front of the school and out stepped Miko with a bored and annoyed look on her face as she shut the backseat door before it drove off.

"Still grounded, huh?" the computer prodigy guessed, taking notice of the Asian teen's less than happy expression.

"Yes I am. Can you believe it? Now I can't go to the base until the end of September," the foreign exchange student ranted.

"Miko you really should have seen this coming the moment you called the Sandersons to pick you up and told them what you did," Jack replied calmly.

"Oh great, you're on their side now?" Miko snapped as she stomped past him.

"No, I'm on Sasha's side," the onyx-haired boy shot back, turning to face the rebellious teen.

"Oh, so I'm the bad guy because I tried to get her to loosen up? I didn't know that was a crime," the shriek-metal lover muttered sarcastically.

"She addressed the fact that she cared about the environment and was a Goth in class on Friday. You don't have to be rocket scientist to know that monster truck don't fall into either category. And she probably had enough frustration and anxiety what with being temporarily transferred to a new school without her family members and friends physically here. You taking her to a place that she hated and lied about it made it worse," the junior student berated.

By then a few students were looking at the two teens argue, expecting there to be a brawl or a teacher to come out and escort them to the councilor. The computer prodigy saw this and set to end it.

"Guys, the bell is about to ring. Unless you want to get tardy slips or detention, I think we should go in," Raf spoke in a matter-of-fact tone as he walked past both older students and through the school doors. The two teens gave each other one final glare before heading inside.

As they got to the biology classroom, they saw through the small glass pane that a small group of students were surrounding someone. The trio exchanged looks of surprise and curiosity. Was there yet another new student? They opened the door and walked in. As they approached the group, they saw that it included Isabella and Sierra who were marveling the unseen student. As the three squeezed through the crowd, they stopped and stared at the person who was being marveled at.

It was Sasha. However, Jack noticed her change in appearance. She wore an indigo one sleeve top, the sleeve part being on her right arm and extending to her wrist, a black skirt with the stitching of a neon green raven, dark violet socks, her normal rubber combat boots, fingerless black gloves (made of cloth of course) with the right one having a purple spider web while the other had a purple skull, a fishnet covering the arm without a sleeve, and silver hoop earrings. Her makeup consisted of blue violet fingernail polish and dark lavender lipstick. Her hair was in a neat ponytail and had a small buzzcut on the lower right part of her head while her left side had a single amethyst highlight. The last thing she had with her was her plum purple, spider motif backpack. It was a huge change from her covered up look on Friday.

"Your top is so cute! Where did you get it?" Isabella asked with an admiring smile.

"It was a gift from a cousin on my mom's side from the Bloomingdales in Beverly Hills," the Goth said casually with a small smile, her voice full of honesty but lacking any snootiness. "It may not be fancy to some people but it has some sentiments. My cousin, Heather, remembered how I love deep shades. It's a really thoughtful gift considering that most of my maternal cousins sometimes forget that I like casual clothes, especially dark colored ones."

"And your earrings are gorgeous. You're so lucky that your parents let you get your ears pierced," Sierra sighed wistfully.

"Thanks," the nature-lover said humbly, with a friendly shrug. "It was actually my grandparents' idea. And I mean both my paternal and maternal grandparents."

"SASHA?!"

Jack jumped at the loud yell Miko gave. Raf jumped as well before he scooted closer to the older boy. The students crowding the raven-haired girl twisted around and stared at the Asian girl. The junior student saw that instead of being embarrassed, the foreign exchange student was staring at the Sasha's new attire.

"Oh, hey Jack. Hey Raf," the Goth said with a smile before it disappeared and she greeted Miko in a less enthusiastic tone. "Hello Miko."

"What happened to your dark and gloomy wardrobe?" Miko blurted out. A few students glared at the metal shriek music lover for her rude question but the nature-lover kept her cool and civil composure.

"You forget I love the environment, hence I like other colors outside of black too you know," Sasha replied coolly, staring down the foreign exchange student. "I'm surprised you care what I wear since you certainly didn't care how I felt when you dragged me to that stadium on Friday."

Miko's cheeks turned red slightly as she gulped, "Oh, you're still mad about that?"

"In some ways, yes," the Goth replied. "You know when you invited to give me a ride home, I thought you really wanted to be my friend. I was wrong. You just wanted to someone who you can drag with wherever you go like a right hand girl. Well guess what? Newsflash, it doesn't work like that. You can't just pick someone out of the blue and expect them to hang with you and agree with you whenever you want. That's not me. You don't like it, too bad. I won't change who I am to please people like you. Not now, not ever."

With that said, Sasha promptly sat down in her seat, ignoring Miko staring at her with a gaping mouth. Suddenly someone in the group clapped. Then another. Soon, everyone but Jack and Raf were applauding the new student. It was at that time that the onyx-haired boy noticed that all the students for that class had come in during the raven-haired girl's rant and were as moved as the small group that had come in before them. As the clapping died down, the students went to their respective sheets just as the bell rung. The only one standing up when Mr. Parker came in was the Japanese student.

"Ms. Nakadai, wouldn't you like to take a seat?" the biology teacher questioned with a bit of good-natured humor. Snapping out of her stupor, Miko closed her mouth, regaining some composure and went to sit at her assigned desk.

As the middle-aged man collected homework, the onyx-haired boy looked at Sasha. Besides her clothing, he sensed something else had changed in her. Instead of sitting with a slight slouch, she sat straight up, eyes directed towards the board and teacher. There was a gleam in those purple orbs that he hadn't seen the day they met or the day he confronted her in the store. It was determination and acceptance.

Whatever happened to her over the weekend had changed her. And, in Jack's opinion, it seemed to be for the better.

 _Three hours in the outside parts of Jasper; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte sped through the desert, enjoying the rush of the wind against his armor. Never before had he gone at such a speed, not even when he was racing to class to avoid being late. His wheels seemed to follow the curves of the sand bumps as he created a cloud of dust in his wake. Taking a chance, a jolted and made a small jump over a hill and down.

"Woo-hoo!" the ruby and sapphire mechling crowed in excitement.

Once the exhilaration slowed down after a few minutes, the neutral youth stopped and transformed. He looked at his surroundings, spotting a few dried weeds. Walking over to them, he crouched down to get a closer look…only to jump back in shock as a kangaroo mouse leaped out and bounded away. The neutral youth stared after it for a moment before he laughed. The moment reminded him of when he was younger and he and his two true friends (of course they were lower middle caste) chased petro-rabbits all through the open, outside space of the Iacon Recreation Center.

"They would love this," the halfa mechling sighed wistfully to himself when he finished laughing.

Turning away, he strode through the desert. Once he stopped to grab a tumbleweed and slightly picked at it to see what we could find. Other than a few traces of seed and spore, nothing. Another time he caught sight of a small patch of cactus flowers and leaned in to smell them. They were sweet with a vague hint of some sort of inner spicy tone to it. He even caught sight of a rabbit family crossing an empty road and immediately went to help, the rabbits somehow not minding the large metallic extraterrestrial watching and guarding them. After he made sure they were safe, Zettabyte continued his walk. A few minutes later, feeling as though he overstepped some unseen line, he transformed and quietly drove around the desert for awhile. However, he soon grew antsy; the peacefulness of the desert was starting to make him uneasy. Having been on the _Haven_ for many millennias, he was use to the sound of another bot not two meters behind him and the sensing the presence of his classmates and teachers. Now all he had to call company were some plants and rocks as far as he could tell.

"I wonder if the Ghost Zone is like this," the neutral youth pondered to himself out loud. Looking at his bracelet, it clicked in his head. He could visit the Ghost Zone and hang out there until it time to pick up Sasha.

"Now, how did it go again?" Zettabyte murmured to himself as he turned the glyphs to the right three times. Suddenly, a dark green bolt shot out from it before it swirled into a perfect replica of the portal he, Sasha, and Midnight entered the day before. Taking a deep inhale to reassure himself, he stepped into it.

 _At school during lunch; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha reached into her backpack to scratch under Midnight's chin as she spoke reassuringly, "So far so good, Midnight. C'mon, it's lunch time."

The morning had gone quite well; her first set of classes had gone by without incident, Miko hadn't bothered her after the Goth had told her off, Vince hadn't bothered the nature-lover at all that morning, and Midnight was behaving as good as gold. The female feline didn't make a signal sound or fuss since Sasha put her into her backpack. The former stray mammal had been as obedient as she could be and her good behavior was going to be paid off. Strolling through the backdoors of the school to eat at one of the outside tables, the raven-haired girl saw that Sawyer, Adalia, and Colette were sitting at a table on the far side of the yard. Grinning, she strode over to them.

When she was close enough, she greeted them, "Hey guys."

The moment the three teens looked up, it was a mix of different reactions. Adalia's mouth dropped open and her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. Colette stared wide-eyed but her mouth just barely opened. Sawyer almost choked on his turkey sandwich when his gaze fell upon the nature-lover before a faint blue came to his cheeks. Just as Sasha started to feel a bit discouraged, Adalia spoke up.

"Sasha you look awesome!" the Chicana teen breathed, her gapping mouth twisting into a smile.

"You look like a real one-of-a-kind, non-meat eating Goth now," Colette added, a grin gracing on herself as well.

Sawyer took a little longer to respond, but when he finally did, he said, "You look...amazing."

The raven-haired girl couldn't help but blush and smile herself as she sat down and spoke, "Thanks guys. Hey, I have someone I'd like you guys to meet."

She placed her backpack on the seat next to her, unzipped it, and as Midnight popped her head out, Sasha proudly announced, "Meet Midnight."

Once again, the faces of the Goths friends were plastered with shock before morphing into grins.

"Aww, hello cutie," Adalia cooed as she reached over and gave the feline a scratch under the chin. The purr that came after only added to the three teens' melting hearts.

"Oh Sasha, she's adorable. Where did you find her?" Colette questioned, offering Midnight a piece of chicken from her chicken salad which the feline gratefully ate.

"I found her hiding in the bushes in front of my house after you guys dropped me off from the movies," the raven-haired girl explained simply with a smile.

"You really are a compassionate person, aren't you," the soccer-player commented with a smile, a blush still evident on his face, causing Sasha to blush herself.

"This is the third unexpected thing we've encountered today," the dark auburn-haired girl commented as she petted the cat's head.

"Third?" the Goth echoed in confusion.

"The first was what we found out happened to Vince over the weekend," the Chicana teen began explaining. "Apparently since he couldn't get his hands on some booze, he was booted out of the party. He got mad and came back with some friends the day after to throw eggs and paint filled balloons at the house. Twist: it was actually the guy's neighbor's house. The neighbor almost came at them with his dog but someone called the police first before anything could escalate.

Sasha stared at the three of them in shock before asking, "Really?"

The other two teens nodded to confirm Adalia's story.

The French speaker then added, "His parents were so mad, they grounded him for six weeks and they even took away his car."

"Yikes. And to think I was this close from getting involved," the Goth shivered as she indicated with her thumb and index finger, recalling the atrocious favor the red-haired bully tried to get out of her that Friday.

"What's important is that you did the right thing and told him "no"," the African American teen proclaimed reassuringly.

Sasha smiled at with a nod as she finally took out her own lunch; roasted zucchini, cauliflower, and eggplant, a wheat tortilla filled with black beans, tomato, bell pepper, and corn, a Quaker Chewy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip granola bar, cranberry juice, apple and orange slices, and a cup of Yoplait strawberry yogurt. She even had a can of cat food ready for Midnight. As they resumed lunch, the four teens continued talking.

"So Sasha, are you gonna go to the Earth Club after school?" Colette asked curiously.

"You bet," the nature-lover responded with a smile.

"You're gonna to love the club members and Ms. Kissaryn," Sawyer stated with an encouraging smile. "She use to be a substitute for the science teachers and since she couldn't become a full time teacher, she decided to become an after school activity teacher. She's the one who started the club this past spring. She's a really awesome woman."

Sasha grinned, feeling even more excited about going to the club. The four friends and feline continued to eat their lunches. Upon finishing, the raven-haired girl urged her stowaway back into her backpack when she noticed it. Adalia and Colette were smiling with biting lips, trying to suppress giggles.

"Uh oh. Here it comes," warned the soccer-player, grinning himself.

"What's coming?" the Goth asked a little unsure yet excited. As if to answer her question, the two girls individually took out tins. Adalia's tin was white with red trim while Colette's was silver with lavender trim. They both grabbed a corner of the lids and simultaneously pulled them off to reveal cookies.

"We told you were gonna have some treats ready," the Chicana teen giggled. "I made spiced apple cookies with salted caramel drizzle."

"And I made pumpkin cookies with maple frosting and chocolate chips," the French-speaker added with a grin.

Sasha grinned as she took one cookie from each teen and gave them her thanks before trying them. She nearly moaned in delight as she tasted the sweetness of the spiced apple cookie, the bits of cooked fruit going well, of course, with the salted caramel. She then moved onto the pumpkin cookie and was as equally amazed by the richness that the maple and chocolate added to the pumpkin. It was then that the raven-haired girl noticed that several students had come over from their tables to try the delectable treats. She watched with a smile as they each took one or two and tried them. The Goth blinked when she saw Isabella and Sierra hesitate.

"It's alright, take one," Adalia encouraged the two on-lookers. That seemed to do the trick as the two girls in question came and selected a cookie before they bit into them. Instantly, their looks of shyness have away to looks of enjoyment.

Sasha smiled as she stared at the happy students munching away at her friend's treats and thought with satisfaction, _This school year might go better than expected._

 _In the Ghost Zone; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"Well this is a predicament," Zettabyte muttered to himself. He looked around from where he stood only to see the same black and green space with the floating rock platforms.

He hadn't expected anyone to be waiting for him upon arriving into the dimension. However, he did wish there was someone around that he could get directions from and talk to. He had transformed into his ghost form in order to have a better chance of jumping from platform to platform in search of the beings he had met the day before. Of course, the feeling of satisfaction over the small achievement was short-lived thanks to the halfa's feelings of boredom and slight paranoia. The silence of the space was like the silence it gave yesterday when he first stepped into it before he met the spirits. But with no one to break it, it was starting to become as unsettling as the quiet of the desert.

"Maybe I should come back later," the neutral youth decided as he prepared to fiddle with his bracelet to get back.

Before he could twist the glyphs, he was halted by a sound. It was almost like a cross between a faint moan and a silent wail. The sound itself caused him to jump and look around quickly. Silence for a moment. Then the noise came, a bit louder this time. Zettabyte's newfound, sharp hearing alerted him that the sound was coming from somewhere on his far left. The mechling thought about his options; ignore it and leave or go to investigate. The first option seemed more safer but he stopped when he considered the possibility that someone, spirit or otherwise, could be in trouble and needed his help. He made the decision to check it out when the horrifying image of an injured Vendett or Jinx entered his processor.

He began leaping from platform to platform once more. As he followed he noticed the noise got louder and sounded like there were multiple voices. However, the voices were too low for him to tell if the individuals were all male, female, or mixed. When he finally arrived at the source, he found no one but he did notice a rather deep looking hole a few feet away. Gulping, he started taking slow steps towards the large crater. Once he was at the edge of the trench, he leaned a little bit in and looked down.

What he saw, nearly made him scream.

Creatures he'd never seen before crawled around. Their arms and heads were similar to that of humans only they were bald, they looked to have pointed ears, and their thin arms led to unnaturally skinny hands with sharp burgundy claws. The rest of their bodies were a twist between a snake and a traditional misty form of ghosts that Zettabyte had seen in some old picture books provided by Sasha. In fact, the creatures themselves were human-sized, if just a little bit bigger. A few were the smaller than the others but still somewhat sizable. Their skins were the color of angry lava with a few mud brick colored scars on them. Their eyes were harsh blood red dots in pools of blackness and they had no visible noses. He saw a few hissing and lashing at each other, revealing a dark colored tongues and sickly yellow, needle-like teeth as they attempted to bite one another. A few took notice of the halfa and bared their teeth at him, hissing and growling for good measure.

Getting the unspoken hint, Zettabyte gulped again and began to slowly back away. As soon as he was back in the spot he was when he arrived on the piece of hovering land, he prepared to turn around and bolt. However, he didn't expect to come face to face with one of the ones he had been searching for.

"Nephilus!" the mechling gasped in surprise. The spirit in mech form looked at him with concerned indigo optics.

"Are you alright Zetta?" Nephilus asked worriedly.

Zettabyte nodded slowly as he stuttered, "I-I'm fine."

"I see you found our Spite Mite Pit," the guider of souls said monotonously.

"Spite Mite Pit?" the young adult Cybertronian echoed in confusion, his shock and fear slowly ebbing away piece by piece.

"I was hoping you wouldn't find this place until later. But what's done is done," the cobalt and silver mech stated. "Those creatures you saw are beings who died while feeling complete anger, hatred, hurt, or betrayal. Those emotions overcome them so much that upon their deaths, it destroys their humanity and leaves nothing but primal rage. We've tried to rehabilitate them but, sadly, very few have managed to regain their humanity."

"So you keep the rest of them quarantined," the neutral youth spoke with realization.

Nephilus nodded before continuing, "We have to. They'll attack any living thing they see. And they won't hesitate to kill, especially if the one they're attacking reminds them of the one who caused them so much loathing and pain."

"Have…have any ever gotten out?" Zettabyte asked carefully. He nearly fell back as his friend nodded solemnly.

"You know those disappearances and unsolved attacks you've read online? Those are their doing," the guider of souls motioned towards the pit. "We always manage to get them back into the pit but the damage is already done. Many of the living, innocent or not, have lost their lives because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Are you sure that keeping them in there is your best option?" the mechling asked with worry.

"They're primal but they're not stupid. Plus they have a few memories intact. We can't risk putting them in above ground areas. They're just waiting for the right chance," Nephilus informed in a firm tone. "You're lucky that wasn't today. They have poison in their claws and while they may not be as strong as you, that poison can do damage based on how deep they make the cut. A scratch will sting, sometimes followed by fatigue. A deeper one will cause fever, hallucinations, and nausea. The worse ones can have nasty results, even paralyzation." 

The young adult Cybertronian winced before asking, "And this is all because of the negative emotions they feel at death?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, it can happen to anyone. Age, gender, ethnicity, species, orientation and everything else doesn't matter," the soul guider responded. "I'm…I'm really sorry you had to see this. You must think we are terrible for doing this."

"No," Zettabyte said before he even realized he said it. "You and the others aren't to blame. None of you are responsible for the will and emotions of the living." 

The cobalt and silver mech smiled at him before saying, "Thank you. I appreciate your words. And I'm sure everybody else will when I tell them."

At the mention of the others, the halfa asked, "Hey, where is everybody?"

"Well Jadeluck went into labor this morning and Karmaro is with her, their boys are staying with Terrana, Dracorra is tending to some of her dragons, Venomarra is trying out some hew herbs and elixirs, Clockwork is overseeing the timelines, and Riversong is training some of her new pack members," Nephilus explained.

Zettabyte noticed that when the soul guider spoke the wolf-like femme's name, it sounded a little…dreamy. Almost longing. Before he could ponder further, the mech interrupted his train and thought.

"So, what do you wanna do now?" the cobalt and silver mech asked the neutral youth.

"You're asking me what I want?" the mechling questioned, a bit baffled. The halfa was shocked that he, a newcomer to this dimension, was being asked by this mech, the guider of those who departed and who inhabited said dimension longer than him, what they should do.

When the soul guider nodded at him with a gentle smile, the young adult Cybertronian asked, "Well how about we talk?"

Nephilus nodded with a smile as he proceeded to converse with the neutral youth. Zettabyte couldn't help but smile as he began speaking with the his new friend.

 _At the school after the last class; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha smiled as Adalia and Colette gave her shoulders a gentle rub as she came out of class.

"Don't worry. You'll make a great impression," the dark auburn-haired girl soothed softly with a smile and a gentle squeeze of the shoulder.

"If you're as crazy about the environment as they are, you'll fit right in," Adalia joked with a gentle smile to show she had good intentions in her words.

The raven-haired girl grinned and chuckled at her friends' encouragement. She blinked and smiled when Sawyer came over and put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a warm smile.

"You'll be fine. Just be yourself," the soccer-player told her soothingly.

"Thanks guys. I will," the Goth thanked the three other teens.

"C'mon girls. We need to get to our own after school activities," Sawyer spoke as he started heading to where the locker was. "See you tomorrow Sasha! Tell us how it goes!"

"And we want to hear every detail," the Chicana teen added before she and Colette headed to their own club. "See ya!"

"Good luck Sasha!" the French-speaker girl said last before turning away.

"Bye guys!" the nature-lover called out herself before she began walking to her destination. She had the invitations out and was right and left for the room number. She soon came to a door which was colored a dark green and had "12A" in white spelling. As she reached for the doorknob, a voice sounded behind her.

"Hey there!"

Sasha whipped around to see a girl standing a foot behind her. Like her, this girl looked to be about fifteen with similar height and hair color. However, this girl's hair reached a little down past her waist and had rose red highlights on her bangs and at the sides. Her gray eyes had a friendly glint to them and her candy red lipstick lips were smiling to match her eyes. She had bright red star earrings and a matching red choker that had a black skull on it. She also wore a red shirt with a smiley face black heart, black jeans, and crimson and dark gray Vans. Her fingernails were, of course, red with black crossbones on them. The last thing she had was white and black backpack.

"Uh hey," the Goth said a bit awkwardly, feeling embarrassed for being startled so easily.

"I'm Juliet. Are you new here?" the girl, Juliet, asked.

"Well kind of. My name is Sasha and I'm here for Earth club. Someone slipped an invitation into my locker on Friday and I want to be a part of the group," the nature-lover explained, handing her invitation to the red-attired student.

Juliet took the invitation and read it. After a minute she smiled before handing it back.

"Sounds like Ms. Kissaryn got word of you through whichever teach you told about your interest in the environment. We'll love to have you with us. Come in," the obsidian and rose-haired girl said, opening the door to allow the raven-haired girl in.

Sasha stepped into the room and saw the inside. The room was painted a light, soft green, clean white, and dark bluish-turquoise and half of the floor had tiles while the other had jade green carpeting. The room had the usual things; a few bookshelves, the desk for a teacher, a good number of student desks, cabinets, file cabinets, posters, and a chalk board. However, all the desks had been pushed to the back and a few bean bag chairs and cushioned seats had been brought to the front of the room where the chalkboard was. There were about five students in the room; three girls and two boys. All five turned around and stared in surprise at Sasha. Before the nature-lover could back away in shyness, Juliet came up beside her and placed an arm around her.

"Hey guys, this is Sasha. She's a new recruit for the Earth Club that Ms. Kissaryn chose herself. Come say hello," the red-attired Earth club member encouraged gently. The Goth was relieved when the looks of the other five changed into warm smiles as they got up from their seats and made their way towards the two.

"Hi Sasha. I'm Kenya," the girl with slightly dark fawn-colored hair and hazel eyes greeted. She had a slight English accent and she wore a lilac tank top under a jean jacket with pale blue shorts and white high top sneakers. She also had a music note charm bracelet and lip gloss the color of spun sugar.

"I'm Lacey," the girl with mousy brown hair that was tied in ponytail with a lime green scrunchie and green-gray eyes said humbly. She had on pink lip gloss and some peach-colored blush. She wore a pear green top with ruffles sleeves and a pink butterfly necklace with light blue jeans and pink sneakers.

"I'm Amanda," the girl with deep red hair in a long pigtail and blue eyes said smiling with a faint Irish accent and lips coated with cinnamon colored lipgloss. She wore a yellow and rose pink Crystal blouse and a pale orange skirt with a yellow scrunchie on her wrist and beige slippers.

"I'm Alan," the boy with straw colored hair and blue-gray eyes said with a grin. He wore a gray t-shirt with a running white cheetah on it to go with his tan pants and icy blue Converses. He had a black watch on his right wrist.

"And I'm Joaquin," the boy with dark hair and light brown eyes said in a friendly tone with a Latin-American accent that was heavier than Adalia's. He wore a dark green shirt on top of a white long sleeve shirt with his gray pants and black tennis shoes.

"Hi, it's great to meet you guys," the Goth said with a small smile, now feeling relaxed. "Are there more people coming?"

"Nine. Ten if you count Miss Kissaryn," Kenya stated with an optimistic grin, laughing a bit when she saw Sasha's surprised look. "I'm guessing you've never seen a club with that many members?"

"That's part of it," the raven-haired girl nodded. Truth be told, Sasha was more shock by the fact that it was the Earth Club that had that many members. Back in New York, she had been in an environment/recycling club back in middle school but it only had six to eight members. Most of the members were only in the club to because they're parents made them choose an after school activity.

"So you're all interested in helping the environment?" the nature-lover asked curiously.

"You bet," Amanda crowed excitedly, grin widening. "Yourself?"

"Nature protector all the way," Sasha couldn't help but say with a sincere smile.

"Then you're gonna love being in this club," Alan added eagerly. "Even the rewards are eco-friendly. And I'm not just talking about the satisfaction of helping Mother Earth."

"Is that so," the Goth murmured, her nervousness now having completely vanished.

The group nodded as they talked further. Soon their conversation drifted into other subjects. As it turned out, Juliet was a pescatarian who only ate organic fish, Enrique and Amanda were on and off again vegetarians, Kenya was all vegetarian, and Lacey and Alan only ate cruelty-free, organic meats, usually chicken or turkey. Besides Earth club, they all had other interests; Kenya was a bird-watcher, flower-presser and helping on her older cousins' farm, Lacey was into makeup and fashion, Amanda was into arts and crafts, Juliet loved to collect odds and ends like Chinese fans and rare porcelain figures, Alan liked baseball and collecting all kinds of music in any forms, and Enrique loved poetry and collecting geodes.

Amanda's oldest brother's sister-in-law was a bee-keeper and a gardener and often sent jars of pickled or jellied goods and honey to the club. Enrique's father use to be a beach life-guard and collected every kind of shell and sea glass fragment there was and brought it out for sentimental value. Lacey's maternal second cousin often took her and her family on trips to places like Rome or Hawaii for summer vacation so he could get her interested in traveling abroad when she went off to college. Juliet's older half-sister always took her to old strip malls where they included an old-school pharmacy, which was run by Kenya's aunt and grandmother, an instrument repair shop, a chocolate shop, and many other stores. Alan's father great-uncle owned a ranch which he takes Alan to on vacations any time of the year. To say Sasha was impressed by their relations and the occupations of their kin would be an understatement. She was seriously amazed. Her classmates back in New York were mainly sons and daughters of brewers, police officials, electricians, and boutique owners.

Not too long after they finished sharing, more students came in. All were of different grades, gender, ethnicity, age, build, and whatnot. And all were as friendly as the five the raven-haired girl had already gotten acquainted with. A few more minutes passed as the club began to talk amongst themselves and to their new member when the door opened.

In strode a woman that looked to be in her mid or late thirties. She was a bit taller than most of the students but not towering. She had tanned skin and wavy strawberry blonde hair that stopped before the middle of her back and complimented her dark blue eyes. She wore a orange and red loose, long sleeve blouse and light honey colored skirt that reached down to her ankles and left enough room to show off ginger brown sandals. Around her neck she wore a golden-chain necklace with a flower shaped piece of rose quartz and her earrings were golden lilies. She had on dark berry red lipstick and her fingernails were painted a softer shade of sunset orange. She stood in the front of the chalkboard and smiled as she pressed her hands together. The only think she had with her was a large tote bag that was made of old juice pouches.

"Good afternoon Earth Club," she chirped jovially to which the students all greeted her back with enthusiasm. "I like you all to say hello, if you haven't already, to our some of our new members.

A few of the members waved and said "hello" while the rest just nodded and smiled at Sasha and some of the freshman who had joined.

"Now it's time for our Monday Brain Storm Discussion. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, allow me to explain," the strawberry blonde woman said brightly. "It's where we all come up with activities and projects to do to help the Earth. They can be big or small, simple or a little complex. Just as long as they promote going green and saving our environment. Who would like to start?"

Deciding to be bold, Sasha raised her hand, "I would."

"Why thank you for offering Miss…?" the teacher obviously wanted to know her name.

"Sasha. Sasha Morgan," the Goth said bravely with a smile.

Ms. Kissaryn's own mouth stretched into a wide and happy grin as she spoke, "I knew you would join. Mr. Parker recommended you and anyone he recommends will do great things. Now tell us; what ideas do you have?"

The raven-haired girl blushed modestly before saying, "Well I heard this school has a cooking and baking club and I was thinking we could use any of the eggshells they thrown away into little makeshift potted plants. My grandfather and I use to do it and they always came out great."

"Why that's a great idea," the strawberry blonde woman cheered. "What else?"

"We can bring old lotion, shampoo, peanut butter and other empty bath or food product containers and use them to hold stuff in. Even if they're plastic. My grandfather made a frosting bottle out of an old lotion bottle once."

"That is a grand idea. And I believe it would be an effective way to get other students into reusing instead of wasting," the teacher smiled. "What do you say class?"

There were audible agreements and compliments aimed towards the raven-haired girl.

"Before we begin, I would like to offer you all a special treat in case you need something to hold you over until the club ends," Ms. Kissaryn grinned, as she pulled a large container out of her tote bag and opened it. As a familiar smell hit Sasha's nostrils, she couldn't help but half grin and half gap in surprise.

"Mmm! What is that smell?" one of the male members asked dreamily, watering mouth and hungry eyes matching the ones of the rest of the club.

"Two of the Cooking and Baking Club members wanted to give us a little something so we can start off our year right," the strawberry blonde woman claimed as she opened it to reveal the spiced apple cookies and frosted pumpkin cookies.

The nature-lover didn't miss her teacher's friendly wink and smile to which the Goth gladly returned.

 _An hour later in the Ghost Zone; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"That's how I learned the hard way that I shouldn't get too close to a dragon's nest," Nephilus grinned as Zettabyte burst into laughter.

The mech had spent the last hour talking and joking with the mechling. The halfa couldn't help but find his newfound friend hilarious and daring. He saw through the stoic veil and found how interesting and friendly the soul guider could be. As they talked, the neutral youth couldn't help but take note of how the Nephilus blushed upon mentioning Riversong. He had seen his classmates and teachers blush like that when they spoke of their lovers.

Zettabyte's thoughts were interrupted when the soul guider snapped his digits and a small dark blue flame appeared on his index digit. It flickered in a wispy like manner and it seemed to have an inner pale blue glow despite its dominant dark coloring. The mechling continued to stare even as the mech flicked it into the air where it faded as soon as it was created.

"What was that?" the halfa asked, half amazed, half curious.

"It's called ecto-energy. It another power we spirits have, and so you have now too. We use it to injure enemies, morph it into short lasting weapons, temporarily make shields, carve or melt things, light the darkness, and tear or blast open or away obstacles," Nephilus explained casually. "All you need to do is focus. Close your optics and envision energy from your core flowing into you servos."

Doing as he was instructed, Zettabyte offlined his optics and focused. He felt something deep in his spark grow warmer before it moved out of his chamber, traveled through his right arm before pooling into his right servo's palm. Onlining his optics he looked down at his servo and stared in shock and excitement. A flickering ball of apple-green energy had engulfed his servo without damaging it and seemed to glow with the enthusiasm he felt towards his new found ability.

"I-I did it!" the teenage Cybertronian couldn't help grinning with triumphant. "What do I do with it now?"

"Anything," the soul guider encouraged with a grin.

Looking around, the neutral youth caught sight of a sizable boulder a few feet away. Reeling his arm back, Zettabyte pitched his arm forward and the ecto-energy flew towards the boulder in an orb shape. The moment it hit the boulder it let out a loud rumbling smash, a thick cloud of dusty debris appeared with contact. Once it dissipated, the mechling saw that a large chunk of the boulder was obliterated.

"Whoa," the halfa breathed, completely in awe.

"Nice blast. But you can create your ecto-energy blasts faster. And there will be times when you need to have a go at hand-to-hand combat," Nephilus warned before smiling. "Our lessons will begin tomorrow after you drop Sasha off."

"W-What? You mean you're gonna train me," Zettabyte stuttered the question, once again he was riddled with surprise and barely-contained joy.

"Well you are, in a sense, my charge. I think it will be appropriate and a great experience," the mech said calmly. He wasn't shocked when the Cybertronian teenager launched himself at him and hugged him. The soul guider just chuckled softly and hugged his charge back. They pulled away after a few seconds.

Suddenly Zettabyte remembered that they had been speaking for a quite awhile and immediately asked, "Wait, Nephilus do you know the time?"

"It's four twenty-two," Nephilus said simply.

"Scrap! The school Earth club ends at four thirty," the neutral youth cried out as he jumped to his pedes.

"It's alright. I'll open the portal for you," the soul guider reassured as he pulled a scythe out of what Zettabyte could only describe as the spirit equivalent of a subspace. The scythe stem was cobalt and black with a silvery white blade. It had a pointed end which had small blue-green gems on it. There was a small s sculpting of angelic wings and a crescent moon near the blade and it had a amethyst gem on it. "I'll come to you when you arrive tomorrow."

"Thank you so much. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye Nephilus," the Cybertronian teen thanked his friend and now mentor as he stepped through the portal.

"Take care until tomorrow my friend," the soul guider called as Zettabyte walked through the portal and arrived back in the desert.

When the portal closed, the mechling immediately transformed into his vehicle mode and started towards the town while murmuring, "I can't wait to tell Sasha!"

 _At the school a few minutes later; Sasha's Perspective_

"Now kids, don't forget to sign the attendance sheet when you arrive at the sanctuary tomorrow after school," Ms. Kissaryn called to her students as they left the classroom. "Oh, Sasha come here for a moment please."

The Goth stopped as she was just inches from the door and walked up to her teacher before asking, "Yes, Ms. Kissaryn?"

"Oh, you can call me Ms. K from time to time. All the students do. Anyway, I have something for you," the strawberry blonde woman said as she reached I into her tote bag again. She pulled out a dark red shirt with a white paw print on the front and white denim shorts. "This is the uniform that we wear when we work at the Jasper Animal Sanctuary. I hope you don't mind. And I hope you enjoyed your first day here."

"I don't mind and I did enjoy Earth club. Thank you. And I will be there," the nature-lover assured with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll see you as well. Have good evening," the teacher said kindly as the raven-haired girl left. The moment Sasha walked out the doors of the school she opened her backpack to let Midnight out and place her uniform in.

"Mew," the black feline said, shaking her head to wake her up as she had just finished a nap.

"Hey there girl. Zettabyte will be here soon," the Goth said as she scooped up her small furry friend and went to stand by the curb. A few minutes later, a familiar ruby and sapphire hybrid opened in front of her.

"Sorry I'm a bit late. How was school and the Earth club?" Zettabyte asked her as she got into his passenger seat.

"It's okay. And school and the club were great," the nature-lover couldn't help but say happily.

"That's awesome. You'll never believe what went on with me today," the Cybertronian teen said.

 _A few hours later at Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

"Okay, how do I look," Sasha asked as she turned around to show her guardian and cat companion her uniform. Thank fully, it was an adequate fit with the shirt just a bit loose but otherwise fine. She had braided her ponytail, turning it into a pigtail and she had on white socks with red and white sneakers.

"Mew," the female feline responded, as if to compliment her owner.

"You look ready to go in and handle some animal-related work. I like it," Zettabyte said with an honest smile. "You're really excited about working with at that sanctuary tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yes. Probably just as excited as you are to be training with Nephilus tomorrow," the Goth responded with a light laugh, picking up Midnight who had begun rubbing against her legs.

"I can't help it. Who knows what he'll teach me," the neutral youth said enthusiastically. "I haven't felt this excited since my Amma took me to go see the new organic plants that Botanica put on display at the Praxian Art and Science Exhibit."

"Sounds like it was really fun," the nature-lover said politely.

"Yeah, it was," the halfa said wistfully before he frowned. "Sasha, do you…do you think that those Spite Mites have forgotten the happy memories of when they were alive. I mean, even if they're too angry to care, they have to have more than just the bad memories. Right?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe," the raven-haired girl said uncertainly, scratching behind the former stray's ear subconsciously. "I think it's possible yet it might not be. You don't always know what goes through another's head."

The mechling nodded as he said, "Good point."

In an attempt to chase away the darkening mood, Sasha asked cheerfully, "Hey, how about we go and get some plant samples this weekend?"

That certainly did the trick as her guardian grinned and nodded at her.

"Great! So I'm gonna go get changed and then I'm gonna make dinner for Midnight and I, alright?" the Goth stated, smiling when her partner nodded.

"Sounds fine by me," Zettabyte replied before he turned back to the geography and geology books he had been reading as Sasha went back into the house, still holding Midnight.

 _Over half an hour later; Sasha's Perspective_

The nature-lover hummed as she spooned the warmed up marinara over her angel hair wheat pasta that had mushrooms, peppers, and olives mixed in. She then sprinkled a generous amount of Parmesan on top before adding some baby carrots and toasted garlic bread on the side. She set it down the side of the table where Midnight was already digging into her dinner. The Goth then went and grabbed the can of Pepsi she had been saving. As she set it down beside her food, the phone rang.

Striding over to the phone, the raven-haired girl picked it up and answered, "Hello? This is the Morgan residence."

" **Hey Sasha, its Jack,"** a familiar voice answered in a friendly tone.

"Oh, hey Jack. What's up?" Sasha replied politely.

" **Nothing. Just thought I should give you a call. If you're wondering how I know you're phone number it's because I wrote down the redial number when I called you the day before and my mom use to have phone conversations with your aunt,"** the onyx-haired boy explained, sounding a little .

"Relax Jack. I'm not gonna have you brought up on stalking charges just because you wrote down my aunt and uncle's home phone number," she responded in a cool and gentle tone.

" **Oh thank goodness. I was afraid you think I was becoming a stalker,"** her classmate laughed. **"The reason I called is because I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out this week or even this weekend."**

"Thanks for the offer but I'm gonna have to take a rain check. I got plans of my own," Sasha answered in an apologetic tone. "Maybe some other time."

" **Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow. Goodnight,"** Jack responded before hanging up.

Hanging her own phone up, she began went to enjoy her supper as she thought, _I'm bet I'm the only one now who can say that the reason I can't hang out with someone is because I'm hanging with my alien robot friend_ _ **AND**_ _be telling the truth._

Here it is! Sorry I'm late. I'm making more fanfic ideas that I can dish out and final are coming up fast. I'll try to finish it up. And be on the lookout for my holiday TFP fanfic. Haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed. Don't worry, Team Prime and Zettabyte will meet up again and Sasha the Prime human crew will find out each other's secrets too.

Until then, Happy Reading.


	8. Chapter 8: Training and Aiding

Chapter 8: Training and Aiding

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _At Sasha's house; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha blended her yogurt, pineapple, orange, and grapefruit smoothie as she waited for her whole grain waffle to stop cooking. She poured her drink into her reusable, purple and cerulean drinking container before going to turn off and unplug the waffle-maker, carefully grabbing the piping hot tan-colored disc.

"Looks like I'm having breakfast on the road Midnight," the raven-haired girl told the female feline who was finishing her own breakfast not a foot away. The Goth was wearing a dark green ruffle neck blouse over a long sleeve berry blue thermal Henley top. She had on dark grey skinny jeans with a teal stitching of a dragonfly on the left pocket. She also had on black and navy blue tennis shoes. Her hair was down as she planned to put it up with a black scrunchie later on and she had on just blueberry lipgloss. "But sometimes it happens when you want to wake up a bit later and start the day with a warm meal."

She spread peanut butter on the waffle before layering it with apples and banana slices. She then added a dash of cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup, and some apple cinnamon granola for crunch (and just a bit more flavor) before folding it into a taco shape and taking a bite. She hummed in delight at the different textures and flavors. Sasha then slung her backpack over her shoulder, grabbed her drink and the bag that had her uniform before running towards the garage, Midnight following right behind her.

"Morning Zee, let's go," the nature-lover proclaimed as she grabbed the garage remote before jumping into his passenger seat.

"Morning Sasha, I see you're in a hurry," the mechling joked good-naturedly as he drove out into the road the moment the garage door was opened wide enough and waited for his human friend to close the door before he started driving.

"Yup, I woke a bit later than usual and I wanted a warm breakfast so yeah," the Goth said between bites and sips. She couldn't help but grin herself when she heard her friend's soft laughter before it stopped.

"Hey I've been thinking. Won't it be dangerous for Midnight to go with you to the sanctuary? I mean what if she gets a disease from or gives a disease to one of the animals? Or what if someone finds her in your backpack and thinks your stealing the shelter animals and takes her away?" Zettabyte asks with concern.

Sasha swallowed the last of her waffle hard. She had never considered that before and she was grateful her friend brought it up. She couldn't risk letting her precious feline companion getting sick or getting another animal sick. And she certainly DIDN'T want to lose her to the sanctuary if they thought the feline was a part of the sanctuary and was being stolen or was brought in to be adopted by someone else.

"I didn't think about that. What are we gonna do?" the raven-haired girl asked the neutral youth worriedly.

"If you want, I can take her for the day. I'm sure Nephilus won't mind," the halfa volunteered helpfully with optimism. "It won't be a problem."

"That's a great idea Zee," the nature-lover stated grinning. "You're as great as quick thinker as you are a friend."

"Oh, it's nothing. Midnight is my companion too and it's only right that I take responsibility as well," the Cybertronian teen said modestly as he pulled up to the school curb.

Grabbing her backpack and uniform bag, Sasha got out and turned to Midnight, "Sorry Midnight, not today. You're gonna stay with Zetta for now."

"Mew," the cat mewled from the passenger seat as the Goth grabbed the cans of cat food and two sparkly, fluffy toys she brought with her and put them in her guardian's compartment.

Once she was done, Sasha gave Midnight a quick pet and a kiss before shutting the door and rubbing Zettabyte's hood, "Bye you two. I love you guys."

"We love you too Sasha. We'll see you later," the neutral youth responded before driving off.

 _In the school; Sasha's Perspective_

Upon arriving at her locker, Sasha fiddled with the combination before it finally opened and she put her uniform in so that it would stay safe and she wouldn't have to carry it around all day. Turning around she came face to face with the grinning faces of Adalia and Colette.

"Soooo, how did it go?" Adalia asked eagerly.

"Was it as good as you imagined?" Colette put in though she had a knowing smile.

"It was better than I imagined. The members were really nice and Ms. Kissaryn is a great teacher," the nature-lover said smiling. "And thank you guys for making extra cookies for the club so you can make my first experience at the club even more fun."

Both girls hugged the Goth as they said in unison, "Anytime."

Sasha laughed and hugged them back. Once they pulled apart, the deep auburn-haired girl grabbed a container from inside her backpack and opened it to reveal muffins and croissants.

"We made lemon blueberry muffins and cherry croissants," the French-speaker said cheerfully.

As Sasha breathed in the fresh and tangy scents, she knew it was going to be a good day.

 _Elsewhere in the Ghost Zone; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte waited patiently for his mentor and friend to arrive as he held Midnight in one servo. He tapped his right pede to channel out his nervousness, having changed into his halfa mode upon arrival. He looked left to right, checking his internal chronometer. Seventeen minutes had passed since he arrived. He turned his attention to the cat in his servo who was walking circles around in his palm in a bored fashion, meowing listlessly.

"Nephilus will arrive soon, Midnight. Don't you worry," the mechling soothed. "And you'll be back with Sasha tomorrow. I promise."

"Mew," the black feline mewled as if to accept what the metal titan told her. Five more minutes later, the halfa saw the cobalt and silver mech leaping from platform to platform before stopping in front of the two.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late. I was caught up with…something," the soul guider said calmly, but Zettabyte could see that he look flustered. On top of that, his cloak was a bit wrinkled and he had a musky smell on him that had not been there the day before.

"It's okay. I just hope you don't mind that I brought Midnight," the neutral youth stated hopefully.

Nephilus smiled as he scratched the female mammal's chin with one digit as he replied, "I don't mind at all."

"Are we going to start training now?" the Cybertronian teen asked excitedly.

The mech nodded before he began leaping back the way he came, "Follow me."

Zettabyte obliged, making sure that Midnight was safe in his hold before he began leaping from platform to platform as well. He was surprised that he was keeping up with the soul guider who was, to the mechling, faster and more experienced. Twelve minutes passed before they stopped on a rather large platform. He blinked when he saw who else was there. Riversong seemed to be having a conversation with Nephilus. The two spirits were in close proximity, as if they were almost on the verge of embracing each other. The Cybertronian teen's heightened sense of smell and sight allowed him to see that the wolf-like femme's fur looked to be ruffled and unkept and her scent was the same muskiness that the soul guider had. In an attempt to regain their attention, Zettabyte began walking over. The two continued to whisper until the mechling stopped just a few inches away.

"Hello Riversong," the halfa greeted as politely as he could.

Riversong smiled before she responded, "Hello Zetta. It's good to see you again. And I see you brought your little cat friend."

Without warning, Midnight leaped towards the protector who caught her with ease and held her close. The female feline mewled as she rubbed against the femme's chassis. Riversong giggled and petted the small creature. As Zettabyte smiled, he noticed that Nephilus was staring with a serene smile and the neutral youth could have sworn he saw a blush.

"Alright Zetta, let's began," the soul guider immediately claimed as he walked towards the center of the platform, taking off his cloak and tossing it away. Just as the cloak was about to hit the floor, a flash of white caught it, startling Zettabyte.

"Whoa! What was that?!" the Cybertronian teen exclaimed, almost falling back.

"That was Baylina," Riversong answered calmly. The "white flash" returned and perched on Nephilus' shoulder, revealing itself, or rather herself, to be a snowy owl. However, she was a bit bigger than most and her coloring was a strong surprise. She was white like a normal snow owl but had many icy blue and lavender flecks on her wings and head. Her eyes were a paler shade of icy blue and her black beak had a thin vertical silver stripe on it. Her feet were black as well but her claws were a dark blue.

"She's lovely," the neutral youth complimented the owl politely, having gotten over his shock as he came over to inspect the avian. "Hello there."

The owl let out a small, pleased chirp at the compliment. Zettabyte then gave her head a little scratching which she obviously enjoyed by the way hers eyes closed in content. The Cybertronian teen was surprised by how warm the creature's feathers were despite their frosty detail. As soon as he stopped petting her, Baylina flew off Nephilus' shoulder and landed on Riversong's. She took notice of Midnight and vice versa. Much like his human friend had done when the feline saw the mechling, the halfa prepared to jump into action should the two animals strike out at each other. To his surprise, and relief, the cat playfully batted at the owl to which the nocturnal bird responded by fluffing herself up and hooting kindly. Feeling reassured enough to leave the two animals alone with the protector, Zettabyte returned to the middle of the platform where Nephilus was at.

"Alright, you ready?" the soul guider asked as he stood firmly.

"As ready as I'll ever be," the neutral youth replied as calm as he could.

"We'll start with defense and attack moves," the mech stated. "This begins now."

When that last word left the spirit's mouth, the mechling jumped back just as his mentor swung at him. When the soul guider attempted to kick out at him, Zettabyte felt a strange surge within him. His body reacted before his processor could as he grabbed Nephilus' leg and attempted to twist him which would slam him onto the floor. However the soul guider twisted in the air and landed on steadily on his pedes. The mech then tried to kick his legs out from under the Cybertronian teen which he almost succeeded in. Almost. The neutral youth did a barrel roll and hopped back onto his own pedes. The two stood firmly in their positions.

Nephilus was the first to strike, charging at Zettabyte with his fist raised. The halfa dodged out of the way last minute before roundhouse kicking him in the back. The mech caught himself from falling flat onto his faceplate before whipping around. He gave the mechling a sort of grin to say he was impressed. The Cybertronian teen couldn't deny feeling shocked over his newfound reflexes himself.

 _Dracorra wasn't kidding when she said my reflexes, speed, and strength had been enhanced_ , neutral youth thought to himself.

"Hmmm, not bad. Not bad at all," Nephilus hummed with a pleased smile before it turned sly. "We'll continue those tomorrow. Let's jump a little into the energy moves."

Zettabyte nodded, readying himself. A large ball of cobalt, ecto-fire appeared in each of the soul guider's palms before he aimed them at the mechling. Not a second later, two flamethrowers of ecto-fire burst from both his palms. The Cybertronian teen dodged and quickly imagined himself with a shield. Almost after he imagined it, a circular disc of energy appeared and attached to his right arm. Getting up, he held his shield close, ready to move. The mech held his friend and student's gaze for a moment before phasing into the ground. _Now_ the halfa was even more alert than he already was. He looked around, expecting the soul guider to come up out of the ground and lunge at him when he felt the very spot beneath him began to heat up. He jumped out of the way just as a large spout of cobalt ecto-fire burst through the ground and flared in the spot Zettabyte once stood in.

 _He's attacking from beneath. Clever,_ the neutral youth thought, half impressed half anxious.

He continued to run and jump away as more fire spouts appeared, creating large patches of scorched Earth on the platform. Just as Zettabyte was starting to think that his mentor had lost seriousness about the training, the mech phased up from the middle of the platform and threw a large, swirling orb of ecto-fire at his student. Thinking fast, the Cybertronian teen threw his shield at the orb. As soon as the two energy attacks met, they detonated, creating a large cloud of smoke and ecto-embers. Taking the chance, the mechling launched a barrage of ecto-blasts, slices of ecto energy, and a few small zaps for good measure. As the smoke cleared, he saw his mentor lying on his side, facing away from him. Feeling a sense of dread wash over him, the halfa bolted to his side. Turning the mech onto his back, he saw, in fear, that his friend's indigo optics were closed. Zettabyte was ready to start screaming for help when Nephilus' optics snapped open and, with a smirk, he punched his student off.

The mechling was grateful for the truth the spirit of dragons and phoenixes' had told about his pain tolerance. The punch did indeed hurt, but it felt more like he bit down on something hard. He fell a few feet back and glanced up at the soul guider who got up without complications and smirked at him.

"It's called 'playing possum.' Have you had enough," Nephilus asked, his voice cocky that one would take as a "give it up" tone but his indigo orbs seemed to encourage the mechling to get up. And that's just what Zettabyte did.

"I'm not out yet," the halfa said in a determined, tone wiping the imaginary energon blood from his chin. "It'll take a lot more than a sneak attack to keep me down. Let's go."

As his mentor grinned confidently, the Cybertronian teen knew that there were more suprises in store. And he was ready to face them, no matter what.

 _A few hours later at school; Sasha's Perspective_

"So, where's Midnight, Sasha?" Sawyer asked before taking a bite of his meatball patty melt.

Thinking quickly, the Goth replied, "I didn't want cross contamination between her and the shelter animals so I left her in my bedroom with food, water, toys, and a litter box. I know it's risky but it's only until I get her vaccinations. I just hope my parents don't find the bill. My dad doesn't mind animals but my mom thinks I can't handle the responsibility and that I'll get board."

"Well so far you've proved her wrong," Colette smiled as she dug into her spiced red and black bean soup.

"Thanks Colette," the raven-haired girl said gratefully with a smile as she ate her tofu chicken, strawberry, and spinach burrito.

"If you want, we can help you pay for the vaccinations," Adalia volunteered sincerely with a kind grin as she ate her fajitas enthusiastically.

"Oh I couldn't ask that of you guys," the nature-lover said modestly.

"You don't have to ask us. We wanna do it. You're our friend Sasha. If we want to do something for you, we're gonna do it without hesitation," the African American teen said firmly but with a smile.

Sasha smiled back, feeling a great amount of appreciation for her friends, as she said, "Thanks guys."

The four teens' happy moment was ruined when a certain red-head appeared.

"What do you want Vince?" the Chicana teen asked in an irritated tone.

"Stay out of this Gonzalez," Vince snapped before turning to glare at Sasha. "You owe me."

"Oh, I owe you? What exactly do I owe you?" the Goth asked, her voice dripping with venom.

"Yeah, because of you, I'm no longer allowed to come to my friend's parties!" the bully snarled.

"Oh, you mean the friend who wanted you wanted me to buy beer for but I refused because unlike you I have morals?" the raven-haired girl snarled viciously. "You have no one but yourself to blame. And what right do you have to blame me for something I was never a part of and will never be a part of, hmmm?"

"You could have at least given me the money!" the red-head menace shouted.

"Vince you leave her alone!" Sierra shouted from her seat. Isabella, who sat beside her, looked in disgust and loathing at Vince. Unfortunately, the bully didn't take notice of them and didn't back down.

"Why should I hand over my money to some punk like you just so you can get into some party that would end with cops busting in and arresting everybody?" the nature-lover spat. "You're not the boss of me."

The bully's face now held an absolutely livid expression as he slammed his hands down and got up in her face, screaming, "Why-!"

"Vince!"

Everyone in the room froze and looked to where the voice came from. In front of the cafeteria doors was a woman who looked to be somewhere in her thirties. Her hickory brown hair was tied into a bun and her black cherry lipstick lips were twisted into an angry frown. Her olive skin was slightly illuminated by the lunch room lights. She wore a dark gray dress suit with a navy blue shirt and white tie visible underneath. She strode in her black high heels towards the table, her hard, dark gray-blue eyes fixated on Vince. A few students stared in quiet while a few snickered and gave the bully nasty grins as they could sense the omen coming on to him.

"Oh, hey there Principal Franklin," the red-head try to say coolly but his nervousness would not have it. "What's up?"

"I saw and heard the whole thing young man," the principal growled through her teeth. "And to think I let your parents talk me out of putting your little stunt over the weekend on your permanent record."

"I was just-," Vince tried to speak out but was once again stopped.

"May I remind you that if it wasn't for the Morgans' contributions to the school for the last six years, you and your fellow football players wouldn't have the new uniforms and equipment you have today," the brunette woman said fiercely. "And let's not forget the several weeks of detention you had last fall when you groped their youngest daughter. I think that you should think deeply on that matter before you so much as put a finger on Sasha. Now, please follow me to my office."

The red head gulped and immediately obeyed. As soon as both principal and student left, everybody went back to eating.

"If I didn't dislike Vince so much, I would almost feel sorry for him," the French-speaker said coolly. "He should have seen that coming considering that Principal Franklin has a strict no-bullying policy."

"Not to mention she herself was harassed by male students when she was our age," the soccer player added. "She told us that once when we had that anti-bullying speech in when we were freshmen."

Sasha stared continued staring at the door as she listened to her friends. Moments later, she smiled triumphantly before turning back to her lunch and conversation.

 _A few hours later; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha stepped out of the girls' bathroom in her sanctuary uniform, smiling at Sawyer as she said, "I'm ready."

"Alright, let's go," the soccer-player said enthusiastically as he turned towards the front of the school, the Goth right behind him. Sawyer had offered to drive Sasha to the Sanctuary which she gladly accepted. Still being new to the town, the raven-haired girl didn't know how to get to the sanctuary. The club wasn't taking any buses in order to conserve bus fuel. As they got into the car, the nature-lover waved good-bye to Colette and Adalia, who were being picked up by their parents, before the three vehicles went their separate ways. The four were happy to finally exchange cell numbers with the Morgan girl and vice versa.

"What's the sanctuary like?" Sasha couldn't help asking.

"Well the people there are very caring. They spare no costs at proving the animals with what they need. And, of course, they take in just about any animal that is brought to them," Sawyer replied smiling as he saw his friend's excited grin. Twelve minutes later, they arrived. The nature-lover gapped at the building that was the animal sanctuary.

It was three stories tall and had a garage beside it, most likely for the sanctuary's vehicles. The building itself was a pale sea green with a white roof. The sign on it read in darker green letters _Jasper Animal Sanctuary_. The Goth could see a hint of large grassy area behind the building. Suddenly, the white door opened and a familiar face peeked out.

"Sasha, there you are!" Juliet said, opening the door wider. She wore the same uniform as her fellow member but her hair was in a large bun and today she wore black heart earrings. "Come on in! Not everybody's here but we can get started."

"Alright, I'm coming!" Sasha shouted back before turning to Sawyer. "Thank you Sawyer. I'll see you and the girls tomorrow."

"You're welcome but it really was no problem Sasha. I was glad to do it. See you tomorrow," the soccer-player smiled before her drove off.

The raven-haired girl waved until he was out of sight. She then turned and walked up to the door and opened it. She was met with the smell and sound of animals. Once she entered the building, Sasha walked up to the desk where a middle-aged, woman with graying ginger-colored hair and a heavy build was writing into what look like a schedule template.

"Excuse me but where are the Memorial High student volunteers at?" the Goth asked politely. The woman turned her head up to look at Sasha. Her eyes were a greenish hazel color and her lips were painted with a strawberry red lipstick.

"Oh, are you with Ms. Kissaryn's Earth club?" the woman asked kindly with a soft smile. The nature-lover nodded as she watched the woman get up from her seat, revealing that she too had the sanctuary's shirt but had jeans, worn tennis shoes, and a red and white over shirt. She then grabbed a clipboard and handed it to the raven-haired girl. "Just sign here and then I'll take you to them."

Doing as she was instructed, Sasha quickly wrote down her name and handed it to the woman who put it away before making gestures for the Goth to follow her. Sasha followed her through a corridor before they entered a room on the right. When the door opened, the raven-haired girl looked inside. Sure enough, her fellow club members and teacher were tending to the animals; brushing them, petting them, giving them treats, playing with them, and talking to them. The room itself had pale blue tiles and creamy white walls. Pictures of animal anatomies, posters, and photographs were on the walls. The animals ranged that were in the room ranged in species, color, size, and age.

"Sasha, there you are! Come say hello to Ali," the strawberry blonde woman said cheerily as she petted a gorgeous golden retriever that panted excitedly. The Goth eagerly obeyed and came to her teacher's side in less than a minute.

"She's beautiful," the nature-lover murmured softly as she ran her fingers through the canine's biscuit-colored fur and looked into the warm golden eyes. Ali sensed the friendly aura emitting from the raven-haired girl and happily gave Sasha a big wet lick to which neither minded.

"Ali and her puppies are going to the retirement center with a few other animals and some of the other club members who want to take charge of them. The seniors there adore animals and these guys have just the right enthusiasm brighten those seniors' spirits," the strawberry blonde woman chortled.

Sasha couldn't help but bite her lip when she heard the word 'spirit.' The nature-lover then proceeded to help groom the pets and get them into their leashes. The animals going were Ali and her puppies, a tortoiseshell cat named May and her kittens, a monkey named Sebastian, a small litter of baby rabbits, a young fox named Bandit, a blue, red, and yellow parrot named Chuckles, a male piglet named Gabe, and a boisterous German Shepherd named Axle. Out of the corner of her eye, the Goth saw Kenya fiddling with something. Going over to her, the raven-haired girl saw that she was fiddling with an old pillow, a pool noodle, an old brown turtleneck, duct tape, and shoe strings.

"What you doing Kenya?" Sasha asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm just making a bed for Cleo," the dark fawn-haired girl said brightly, gesturing to the young King Charles Spaniel that Alan was playing with. The raven-haired girl watched as her friend fitted the pool noodle through the sleeves before taping and covering them before inserting the pillow and tying up the head and hem holes.

"That's pretty cool," the nature-lover complimented.

"Thank you. It's recycles and saves money. I have other ideas too if you want me to give you a list later today," Kenya offered to which Sasha nodded eagerly.

"Alright boys and girls. It's time we make our way to the retirement home. We can't risk the animals getting away from us so we're gonna have to take them in one of the sanctuary's vans. Those of you who wish to go to keep an eye on the animals, follow me" Ms. Kissaryn called out as she picked up the litter of bunnies and allowed Sebastian to jump onto her shoulder before heading to the garage, the Goth and a few other students following her.

They all walked out of the room and moved to the back of the building and exited it from there. Sasha saw that the back grassy area had a few stables and a large grassy area which was perfectly big enough to house quite a few animals and allow them the space they needed to get exercise. She then saw that a bright green van was parked behind the garage. The door slid open to reveal a man who looked to be the same age as the ginger-haired woman. He too wore the uniform shirt but had worn gray denims and work boots. His hair was a dark brown, almost black. His skin was very tan and his brown eyes were strong but friendly.

"Hey there kids. Hello Ms. Kissaryn. I'm Chet. Are you all ready?" he asked kindly to which they nodded.

After he helped them get the animals into the back of the van and making sure they were all comfortable, he got into the driver seat and started the van. When the van moved, one of May's kittens crawled into Sasha's lap. Laughing, the raven-haired girl picked the kitten up and held her while wondering what the center had in store.

 _In the Ghost Zone; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"That was a good session," Nephilus complimented as he sat down beside his student.

"Yes it was," Zettabyte panted, still a little dazed from the training that had just ended. The mech had taken the halfa and cat (who had fallen to sleep soon after the training ended) to a platform where a Roman-esque structure where they all sat down underneath the marble roof. Riversong had taken Baylina, saying that she was going to get lunch for the group before leaving. During the sparring, the robotic extraterrestrial discovered that along with shields he could make ecto-claws, whips, and temporary swords. No telling what else he could do until he had more training.

He blinked when he saw the soul guider pull out a crystal glass bottle and two glasses, all fitted for their size. The liquid that was poured into the glasses was indigo with a strong hint of a dark violet. It gave off a sweet and tangy smell that the neutral youth couldn't quite put his digit on. He looked skeptically at the drink when it was handed to him until he saw his teacher take a thirsty gulp and give him an encouraging smile. Pushing away his fear, the Cybertronian teen brought the glass up to his mouth and took and sip. He nearly jumped to his feet by how _amazing_ it tasted! It was rich with a sweet and tangy taste just as it had smelled but it had a hint of something that was a cross between a sort of spice and floral essence. He immediately swallowed the rest in one gulp, causing the mech beside him to laugh.

"I see you're enjoying your Power Nectar," Nephilus laughed as he refilled both glasses.

"Power Nectar? That's what it's called?" Zettabyte questioned in surprise and curiosity.

The soul guider nodded as he explained, "Anyone can drink it. It's safe for animals, plants, humans, and other beings. Heck, it energizes them and even cures any minor illnesses. It is especially effective in sentient creatures."

The mechling found himself nodding in agreement. Before he had drank the liquid, the halfa had felt a bit worn out, mentally and physically. But upon sipping the fluid, he had managed to regain the energy he had lost back. As he took a long sip, he saw Riversong approaching them. She carried three black bowls with pale green-blue designs on them. Baylina remained on her shoulder, cleaning her wings calmly.

"I see Nephilus has given you a taste of Power Nectar. And judging by how you're savoring it, I'm guessing you liked it," the protector guessed jokingly, laughing as the Cybertronian nodded. "Well I hope you like this. It's Venomarra's special herbal soup. And don't worry Zetta, it's vegetarian."

As she said that, she handed the soul guider and halfa a bowl. Looking inside, Zettabyte saw dark forest green noodles in a black broth. Despite the ominous look, it gave off a savory smell that the mechling couldn't but find appetizing. The wolf-like femme then handed him a utensil that looked like a cross between a fork and a chopstick. It was long hand, made of some reddish wood, and had a two prong-like tip. Curiously, he used the prong tips to twirl the noodles like he had seen Sasha do. Surprisingly, the skinny prongs managed to firmly pick up a good-sized bundle of noodles.

Opening his mouth, he inserted the noodles in. The noodles were salty with a hint of something that was sweet and earthy while the broth had a mild spicy tone with an underlining taste of something that was somehow faintly sour but not by much. They also had a soft yet chewy texture and had a decadent thickness to it. It was delicious to Zettabyte. He eagerly began consuming the rest, slurping a bit as he sucked the dark forest green noodles off the utensil. It was at this point Midnight decided to wake up. When she saw the mechling ingesting the broth and noodles, she attempted to jump up and get some of the unidentified food but was stopped by Baylina who caught her in her claws and brought her to Riversong's lap. The protector took the crystal bottle and poured a bit of nectar into her palm before holding it out to the two animals. After sniffing the fluid, the feline took a lap, tasting it, before she began lapping more of it up as the snowy owl joined in. The neutral youth finished what was left of the noodles before bringing the bowl to his mouth and swallowed the rest of the broth broth down to the last drop.

"I see you aren't having any objections with Ghost Zone cuisine," Nephilus laughed.

"How can I when your food is this amazing" the Cybertronian teen asked with a wide grin.

"That's not the only amazing thing we have here," Riversong put in with a triumphant smile.

Setting his bowl and utensil down, Zettabyte listened to what his friends had to say.

 _At Jasper Mellowfields Retirement Home; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha smiled as she watched the elderly residents pet and coo over the animals. The men were enjoying the Sebastian's antics and the friendliness of Ali, her pups, Bandit, and Axle. The women were content with holding, petting and talking to Gabe, May, her kittens, Chuckles, and the young rabbits. The nature-lover took notice of one woman in particular.

This woman looked to be around the same age as the Goth's grandmother. The woman's hair, which was in a braid, was a grayish-white like a storm cloud and had deep green eyes which were like jewels softly upon her wrinkled but elegantly beautiful face. She wore a long sleeve, lilac-colored turtleneck and a long, pale sky blue skirt with the front of two white slippers peeking out from the bottom. Her lips were painted with mulberry purple lipstick and her pearl necklace went wonderfully with her pearl earrings. Although she sat calmly with one of the May's kittens in her lap, she stared in a confused and inquisitive stare. Worriedly, the raven-haired girl approached her.

"Excuse me ma'am, but are you alright?" Sasha asked tentatively.

"Oh, I'm fine," the woman immediately said though never breaking eye contact. "It's just that you look like someone I knew quite a few years ago. What's your name dear?"

"Sasha. Sasha Morgan," the nature-lover said humbly.

The woman's eyes widened in shock and something akin to hope as she asked, "Was your grandmother's name Mabel?"

The Goth stared in utter surprise before stuttering, "Y-yes. How did you know?"

For a moment, the woman looked as though she was caught between laughing or crying before responding with a warm smile, "I'm an old friend of your grandmother's. My name is Ruth Cunnigham and I knew your grandmother since we were little girls. She and I lost contact though when she married your grandfather and went off to have a family. Even though we were happy for each other, it was difficult for us to go our separate ways. How is she? And how is your grandfather, George?"

"She's fine but my grandfather…passed away not too long ago," the raven-haired girl managed to say without letting her voice waver.

Ruth's eyes became sympathetic as she spoke gently, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry for your loss. I assure you that you and your grandmother aren't alone. We've all lost more than our fair share of loved ones. For what it's worth, your grandfather was one of the most unique, kind, and mature man I ever met."

"Thank you Ms. Cunningham. I'm sure he would be flattered by your words if he was still here," Sasha said sincerely with a small smile.

"Please call me Ruth, I insist. And I meant what I said. Your grandfather was something special," the elderly woman spoke in a good-natured tone. "I use to be a high school math teacher back in my home town. At the time, your grandparents were visiting me. One day, I was struggling with encouraging the school's star quarterback, Arnold Bowers, to stay after class for tutoring and take on some extra credit but he wouldn't accept my advice. I vented my frustrations to your grandparents. The next day your grandfather came to school, walked into my classroom, went up to Arnold, looked him dead in the eye and said 'Listen to me young man. You're gonna take your teacher up on her offer, you're gonna start balancing hard studying with your games, and when you graduate, you're gonna come up to her and say thank you.' After that day Arnold stayed after class each day until he graduated and did enough extra credit to give him a passing grade. That day, he came up to me and said those two magical words; thank you."

The Goth couldn't help but gap at her elderly friend's story. The silence was interrupted by an innocent mewl from the kitten who had been resting silently all during their conversation.

"He really said and did that?" Sasha asked incredulously to which Ruth nodded with a proud smile. They both turned to look as Ms. Kissaryn entered the room.

"Snack time," she proclaim with a grin as she held two plates. One had apple slices with a small reddish-orange bowl full of Nutella for dipping the slices and Ritz crackers with a dark blue bowl of soft cheese for dipping the crackers. The other plate had oatmeal raisin and white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies. Behind the strawberry blonde woman, Amanda held a pitcher full of lemonade.

As the plates and pitcher were set on the table near where the two were talking, the raven-haired girl went to try out the snacks. Grabbing a cracker, she scooped it through the cheese dip before consuming it. It was salty and savory with the sweet hint of something and a crunch besides the cracker which added to how delectable it was. The teacher seemed to take notice of the nature-lover's liking of the snack.

"It's a soft cheese dip I made at home with some pine nuts and a jar of honey I got from Amanda," the strawberry blonde woman chirped. "Do you like it?"

The nature-lover eagerly nodded as she got another cracker and dipped it in the tasty cheese concoction before handing it to Ruth to which the elderly woman gratefully took it and tried it in delight. The two then spent the next half hour talking, eating, and laughing.

"And when my husband, Adam, died in the line of duty, I thought I would never be the same," Ruth explained, closing her eyes for a moment. "But your grandparents got together and made such a lovely painting in his honor. It was the sweetest thing they ever done."

"Wow," Sasha breathed, both amazed and overjoyed as she listened to the stories. "What did you do when you guys went your separate ways?"

"Well I moved here to get away from the noise of the city for one thing," the emerald-eyed woman said. "Then after my children moved out, I started to help around the community. I even helped at the Jasper Willowfern Greenhouse."

"You did?" the nature-lover inquired. "Was it good?"

"It was indeed. It was peaceful, beautiful, and lush," the smile then fell from Ruth's face. "Then I got sent here when the relatives worried that I was getting too old."

"Oh I'm sorry," the raven-haired girl couldn't help but give her condolence.

"It's alright. I suppose I should have seen it coming. What's done is done," the elderly woman said in a 'that's final tone.' A moment later, however, her smile returned. "Perhaps you can offer your services to the greenhouse. I'm sure they would welcome a lovely, kind and smart girl such as yourself."

"You think so?" Sasha asked feeling a bit eager.

"Sweetheart, I know so," Ruth stated in matter-of-fact tone. The two shared a smile when they once again interrupted by Ms. Kissaryn.

"Alright children. It's time we take the animals back now," the strawberry blonde woman called out, getting Ali's puppies on their leashes as the retirement home employees started leading the elderly back to their rooms.

"Already?" the Goth questioned to herself. "Looks like I have to go Ruth. I have to help take the animals back to the shelter."

"Oh it's fine. I enjoyed my talk with you," the emerald-eyed woman said with a calm smile. "But I hope I'll see you again soon."

"I will I promise," the nature-lover stated confidently. "And you know what? Maybe I can bring the laptop here when my grandma's online so you two can talk via Skype."

"I would like that very much," the elderly woman nodded with a smile, her wrinkles creasing as she did so.

"Then it's agreed. I'll see you soon Ruth," the Goth said as she turned to follow her teacher and fellow club members out, waving as she did so.

"And you as well Sasha," Ruth called out with a smile and a wave before a nurse came and led her away.

 _Back at the house; Third Person Perspective_

"Sounds like you made a new friend," Zettabyte stated with a smile as his human charge recounted her story to him. "And this Ruth woman sounds like a nice person."

"She is," Sasha confirmed with a smile. She had been brought home by Juliet and her mother in their car to which the Goth had thanked them. "And I'm gonna visit her again when I get the chance and I'm gonna have my laptop ready so she can talk to her grandma. Plus, I'm gonna take her advice and go volunteer for work at the greenhouse just like I did for the sanctuary."

"Good for you Sasha," the mechling said encouragingly with a grin. "I have something to tell you as well. Riversong asked if you and I would like to visit Terrana's Ever Emerald Garden sometime and I said yes."

"Oh my gosh really?!" the nature-lover asked excitedly to which her guardian nodded. "Zee, that's so freakin' cool!"

"I know, right?" the neutral youth chuckled when Midnight meowed at him from the Goth's arms. "You can come too Midnight."

"I also want to meet this Baylina you told me about," the raven-haired girl put in enthusiastically. "And those herbal noodles sound delicious."

"I'm sure she'll love to meet you too," the halfa nodded with a reassuring smile. "Maybe next time you meet, Riversong will have some ready for you too."

"Awesome!" Sasha exclaimed before handing the feline to her friend. "Can you hold her while I go Skype with my grandma and tell her the news?"

"Sure. It was nice of your friends to offer to help pay for Midnight's vaccinations when you go off to the appointment later next week," the Cybertronian teen commented politely.

"It is, isn't it? And I can't believe what you accomplished in your training today. I'm really proud of you Zee," the Goth complimented him with a sincere tone.

"And I'm proud of your Sasha," Zettabyte smiled softly as he took Midnight.

As Sasha began entering her house, she turned to her partner, smiled and said, "You know Zetta, you really are one of my best friends."

"Well you're one of mine as well," he said with a honest and happy tone.

She smiled at him one last time before she retreated inside her house.

 _Inside; Sasha's Perspective_

Opening her laptop, the raven-haired girl logged onto her Skype. Sure enough, she saw that her grandmother was logged on. Clicking on the picture, the nature-lover waited patiently for her grandmother to answer. Less than fifteen seconds later, a live chat screen opened to show Mabel Morgan.

"Hey sweetie, how was school today?" Mabel asked her granddaughter.

"It was great Grandma. After school I went to help at the animal shelter like I told you yesterday. Then we took some of the animals to the retirement center here in Jasper," Sasha said casually, managing to conceal her giggles. "Hey can I ask you a question?"

"Of course. What is it honey?" the elderly matriarch asked calmly.

"Did you and Grandpa ever know a woman named Ruth Cunningham?" the Goth asked. She nearly laughed out loud when her grandmother's eyes nearly widened into saucers.

"W-Why yes but how did you find that out?" the widow looked at her granddaughter in shock.

Sasha could no longer keep her ear-to-ear grin smile contained as she said, "Well, you'll never believe what happened at the center."

Next up is when Zettabyte meets Team Prime again for the second time;3 So hang in there! Haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed. Keep an eye out for my holiday fanfic coming soon. And I got the pet bed making idea from Life Hacks. It's on YouTube. You guys should check it out. Until then, Happy Reading!


	9. Chapter 9: Surprises and Conflicts

Chapter 9: Surprises and Conflicts

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

Warning: violence (mild and serious), implication of death (NOT main characters), mentions of gore, and mild cursing.

 _At Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

"Alright, I'm here. Calm down Zee," Sasha couldn't help but laugh as she entered the garage. The breakfast she had with her consisted of strawberry granola pancakes, one of the maple scones that Colette had made for her to enjoy over the weekend, orange slices, dried cranberries, and a cup of hot chocolate. She was currently wearing a black tank top with a yin and yang symbol on the front, dark blue sweatpants, and gray and dark lilac striped socks.

"I'm sorry Sasha. I guess I'm just really eager to get going," Zettabyte said bashfully as he had been revving his engine a few seconds ago in excitement. The training with Nephilus had broken away the reserved part of the halfa and left only room for confidence to grow. The last three days had been filled with sparring, encouragement, and plenty of delicious snacks. In the end, Zettabyte had learned that he could also make illusions, ecto-shurikens, a full ecto-force field, and could use his ecto energy like a blow torch.

It was an unusually cloudy and brisk Saturday (hence Sasha's cup of hot chocolate) but it surprisingly did little to dampen their mood or interfere with their plans. Even Midnight was acting cheerful as she finished her breakfast and proceeded to meow playfully. Over the past three days, the raven-haired girl had put together a homemade color with an old silk ribbon and three small bells. The female feline now wore a dark lavender and silvery white ribbon with the name 'Midnight' stitched into it with black thread and with three little bells on the front.

The two friends had a great week. True to her word, Sasha had come to the retirement center after school on Wednesday, remembering to bring her laptop, and had promptly put Ruth through to her grandmother. The nature-lover almost cried when she saw how much joy was brought to both women's faces as they greeted each other, talked, laughed, and cried. Sasha had nearly jumped from her seat and yelled obscenities at the nurse who came into the room to escort the emerald-eyed women to bed. Thankfully, both women had reassured her that they would talk again the next day. And they did. However, on Friday, Ruth had told Sasha and her grandmother that she would be unable to speak with them on Saturday because she was to spend the rest of the day with her grandchildren who hadn't seen her for months. Both of them understood.

After that, the Goth went home and made a volunteer application for the greenhouse. She was going to take her newly found friend's advice to heart as she had said. The application was simple enough. The nature-lover just needed to have an interview with them if they got back to her. The raven-haired girl wouldn't mind waiting patiently as she had also made a commitment of giving her cell phone number to the shelter like the rest of the club members so the shelter could call on the students for help. While Sasha had been worried that she was biting off more than she could, she had been comforted by her friends that if she loved both participations enough and was reasonable with the ones in charge, then she would be alright.

"I know, I know. We'll be on our way soon. But first I have to have my most important meal of the day. Not all of us have advanced metabolisms," the Goth joked with a smile while she continued to dig into her breakfast. Her partner had told her about Power Nectar and while she was eager to try it, the human and robotic extraterrestrial had been too busy to properly ask for some. No matter, she would eventually get to try it. She was certain. "What place should we go to collect plant samples?"

"What about the rainforest? I heard it's beautiful and exotic," the halfa offered, his mismatched optics gazing at her hopefully.

Sasha thought about it as she nibbled on her scone. Truth be told, she had never visited the rainforest. The closest things she had to it were pictures, paintings, and dried pressed plants that her grandfather had saved from his visit to the lush, foreign area before he married her grandmother and documentaries and books she had seen so many times in families' library. To her, going to collect fresh botanical samples with her partner sounded awesome.

"You know what? That does sound like a great idea," she said smiling. "I'll go get ready as soon in a few minutes."

"Great! Hey, I've also been thinking about something else," the Cybertronian teen added a little more nervously.

"What is it?" the nature-lover asked as she popped a few dried cranberries into her mouth.

"Well, I was just thinking, to see if it's possible, if we can go to the Ghost Zone to see if Nephilus can open a portal to the rainforest for us," the neutral youth said finally. "That way, we won't have to worry about Soundwave sending out Laserbeak or one of the soldiers."

"That sounds like quite an idea but will he be alright with it?" the Goth asked carefully.

"He's our friend. I believe he'll help us," Zettabyte responded, half hopeful and half determined.

The raven-haired girl couldn't find it within her to argue with her friend. He had a good point and it was worth a try. Ever since he started training with Nephilus, his shyness had gone down quite a bit and had been replaced with a social, friendly, and outgoing glow. Perhaps there was a strong chance the soul guider would do this favor for them.

 _Like Grandpa said; "You won't know it's possible until you try,"_ the nature-lover thought with a smile.

 _An hour later in the desert; Third Person Perspective_

"Do you think I filled my water bottle enough?" Sasha asked her guardian a bit uncertainly.

She had changed into a cobalt shirt with a pale baby blue, white, and silver Chinese Dragon on the front, a pair of dark blue denim jeans with the stitching of a boysenberry purple gothic butterfly, black, lapis blue, and icy blue tennis shoes which covered her wine, dark gray and black colored socks. She had on a sky blue and admiral blue camouflage hoodie with a silvery hawk outstretched on the back. She also had on eggplant fingerless arm warmers that reached to below her elbows, dark blue lipstick, cerulean and iris yin and yang earrings, and she had painted her fingernails amethyst and dark azure. She had her hair up in a ponytail with a black scrunchie.

"Sasha, you're prepared enough. You'll be okay. We both will," the mechling reassured with a smile as he gestured to the same backpack she had with her when they went to the Redwood Forest.

It held the same first aid kit, flashlight with extra batteries, Swiss army knife, towel, magnifying glass, binoculars, and her phone. However, this time she had a small box with smaller containers for plant samples, clippers to cut said samples, a refillable water bottle that was (of course) filled, her purple and cerulean drinking container which was filled with a smoothie she made, a Tupperware with her lunch for that day, granola bars, and two cans of organic tune for Midnight. The feline was contently staying in the Goth's arms.

"I know. I just like to be ready," Sasha admitted bashfully.

"Well that's another thing we share," the neutral youth chuckled smiling before he filled with his bracelet. As expected, a swirling dark green and black portal emerged. Picking his human friend and their feline companion up with one hand and placing them on his shoulder, they went through the portal. They once again ended up on one of the platforms.

"And now we wait," the Cybetronian teen said casually.

"Mew," Midnight mewled plainly as if to say 'okay.' Ten minutes passed when the cobalt and silver mech finally appeared. Unsurprisingly, to Zettabyte, the soul guider's cloak was once again wrinkled and the musky scent was once again present and just a bit fresher than it had been the first tame he smelled it.

"Hello Zettabyte. Hello Sasha, Midnight. To what do I owe this visit?" Nephilus asked with a cool smile, tickling the feline under the chin.

"Mew," the female cat purred at the gentle gesture.

The human and Cybetronian smiled politely as the cat meowed before the mechling spoke, "Hey Nephilus. Sorry if we interrupted you with anything. We were just going to the rainforest for plant samples and we wanted to ask you if you can open a portal that leads to it for us."

"We don't want to risk Soundwave sending Laserbeak out even when the Cons detect Zee's energy signature," the nature-lover added hopefully.

To their relief, the mech smiled and said, "Why not. May I suggest one in Central America around, I don't know, let's say Costa Rica?"

The human and Cybertronian grinned and nodded as the soul guider took out his scythe which, moments later, began glowing with a pale cerulean aura. Then, with the quickest strike that the trio ever saw, Nephilus cut the empty space next to him. Almost as if he sliced a wall of soft clay, a rip appeared in the space before it started to spread wider. Soon, the slice became a signature Ghost Zone portal.

"Thank you Nephilus," the halfa said gratefully with a sincere smile.

"You're welcome Zetta. It was no problem, really," the mech replied with friendly, calm tone. "May I suggest that from now on, Zetta, you use the Decepticon Groundbridge when you go without Sasha or Midnight. That way they won't get caught and you three can come here when you need to get somewhere together."

"Now that sounds like a great idea. We will. Thank you," the neutral youth nodded thankfully and proceeded to walk towards the portal.

"Wait!"

The three stared as the mechling turned so they all can look at the mech.

Nephilus immediately took out the same crystal glass bottle he had brought after his and the mechling's first training session. He then put a finger over the whole before lifting it to show a golf-ball sized ball of Nectar levitating on his finger, before he outstretched his arm to Sasha. He was obviously offering her a taste of the ambrosia-like substance. The raven-haired girl eagerly leaned forward from where she stood on her partner's shoulder plating, puts her lips to the small sphere, and sips it. As the liquid traveled down her throat after washing across her tongue, she could only stare in amazement and mouth "Wow."

"I knew you would make that face," the soul guider chuckled as he closed the bottle.

"I can't help it, it's delicious!" the Goth finally said, mouth spreading into a wide grin.

"Well then, perhaps when you guys visit Terrana, she'll let you two have some more along with the fruits, vegetables, and other delicacies of nature she has growing in her garden," Nephilus said smiling. "Have a great time guys. See you later."

"Thank you! We'll see you later too!" both Sasha and Zettabyte said before the latter moved through the portal with his two smaller companions still on his shoulder. Not two minutes later, the odd trio finally arrived to their destination and marveled at the scene before them.

Lush green plants and towering, colossal (by human terms) trees with vines dangling on their branches like the herbal noodles Zettabyte had consumed that week. A couple of hot pinkish-red and yellow flowers dotted a nearby bush and a large group of Morpho butterflies fluttering about them. A toucan was perched calmly on the branch of one of the trees, cocking its head curiously at the newcomers before taking flight. A squirrel monkey paid no attention to anything other than the fruit it had picked off one of the trees and was now chewing on. A two small red-eyed tree croaked and flopped after each other one of the higher branches.

"It's beautiful," the halfa breathed.

"It's just like the pictures my grandfather showed me," the nature-lover whispered in joy and amazement. "I've got to take photos."

As the Cybertronian teen lowered his human friend and furry companion, the Goth began digging through her backpack for her phone. Midnight caught sight of the butterflies and immediately gave a little chase, batting at them while the bells of her ribbon jingled. The largest of the trio kept a sharp optic on his two smaller charges. With his now enhanced vision, it was not difficult. It was then that he caught sight of something falling out of the raven-haired girl's backpack as she finally fished out her phone.

"Hey Sasha, I think you dropped something," the neutral youth stated curiously, pointing at the object. Sasha looked up at him in confusion when she spotted what he was pointing at. She picked it up and blinked in shock.

"How did this get in here?" she muttered.

"What is it?" the mechling asked quizzically.

"It's one of my ISB flash drives," the raven-haired girl answered as she inspected the drive.

Petra and Clementine, two of her brainy cousins from her mother's side, had given her a large collection of flash drives of every shape color, and design for her twelfth birthday before she started sixth grade. While it may have seemed like an unusual gift to some, even boring, Sasha saw the gift as thoughtful and responsible. She thanked them and used the flash drives as much as she could. The collection was one of the many things she brought with her. The one she currently had was a cerulean blue and dark green sea turtle that was a little bigger than a the cap from milk gallon with a small clip so it could be attached to her backpack. The nature-lover concluded that she must have accidently put it into the backpack sometime ago.

"Well, you never know when you might need one of these," the Goth said shrugging as she put the USB back into her backpack before slinging the backpack over her shoulders and began taking some pictures with her phone.

"That's true," Zettabyte nodded as he picked up Midnight who had almost disappeared into a bush.

Once the raven-haired girl finished taking pictures, she put her phone back into her backpack and pulled out the box and grinned, saying, "Now let's get some samples."

The neutral youth smiled and nodded eagerly, "Let's start with those flowers."

The Goth laughed softly with a nod of her own as she made her way over to the flowers her guardian had pointed at. As she got out the clippers, cut off one of the flowers, and placed it into one of the smaller containers filled with a special preserving solution, Sasha couldn't help but feel that meeting Zetta and Midnight were two of the best things that happened to her.

 _Elsewhere; Third Person Perspective_

"Are we almost there?" Nikolai asked impatiently. The masked middle-aged man was riding with one of his companions to a special location out in the Costa Rica. This place in question was a M.E.C.H. hideout.

However, the soldiers in charge of the hideout had not reported in the last few days. Silas, who was still in a simmering angry mood from the loss of the lone Cybertronian, had shortly ordered two of his men to go and check on "those slow zealots" as their scarred leader called them. Nikolai had quickly volunteered and now he was somewhat regretting it. It wasn't that he had a fear of flying but rather he was fearful of what the soldiers at the hideout were doing. If they were busy working on something that would please Silas, then all the soldiers were going to be alright. But if they were goofing off, then everyone would pay.

"No. Don't you start asking fifty times like an impatient kid," his companion, Benson, snapped irritably.

"I wouldn't be inclined to if you would fly this thing faster," Nikolai growled back.

"We're just barely half way there! Relax will you!?" Benson shouted.

Nikolai huffed and crossed his arms before saying, "I would if we didn't have the boss man to worry about."

"You and me both," his companion replied solemnly. Not another word was spoken.

 _One and a half hours later; Third Person Perspective_

"Okay, that's the last sample," the nature-lover said with a smile as she put the box away.

The sample collecting had gone better than either had thought. They had collected samples from as many types of trees, plants, flowers, and even some fruit trees as possible. Zettabyte had found a blue orchid that he found extremely beautiful. Instead of plucking it, the young robotic titan had made a crude but sturdy flower pot out of a rock using his ecto-energy. His charge then gently helped him scoop the flower into the makeshift pot before he stored it into his sub-space.

"I can't wait to see what they're like under a microscope," the mechling said excitedly, practically bouncing up and down like a little kid who was about to be given a sweet treat.

"I know. Just remember to let me handle the microscope," the raven-haired girl laughed. The microscope in question was an old piece of equipment that her aunt and uncle found at a yard sale a few years prior. They liked collecting devices that they may need to use or could donate.

"Got it," the Cybertronian teen nodded in agreement. Their conversation however was stopped when a sudden bang resounded from somewhere in the opposite direction of where they arrived.

Midnight let out a terrified level before jumping into Sasha's arms. The Goth was then lifted up by the neutral youth when a horde of animals came stampeding from the direction of the bang. Birds flew through the air in wild patterns. Tree animals like lizards, amphibians, monkeys, kinkajous, and even some bats raced through the trees to get away from whatever danger there was. Even the jaguars that ran past them paid no mind to the tapirs and deer that ran alongside the large feline predators. Once the stampede had died down, the trio was only meant with silence that did not fit the lively environment around them.

"W-What the Pit was that all about?" Zettabyte asked incredulously.

"I-I don't' know. It sounded like a gun shot," Sasha stuttered out shakily.

"Mew," the shadow-colored feline mewled shyly.

"Gun shot? I thought hunting is frowned down upon in protected areas like the rainforest," the halfa spoke up.

"That doesn't stop hunters or poachers from doing it," the nature-lover stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

Suddenly, both human and Cybertronian slowly turned their heads to look at each other and exchange looks of shock, worry, and horror as a despicable possibility popped in both their minds. A minute later, Zettabyte was running towards where the disturbance had sounded from. The raven-haired girl hung on tight to her friend's right neck and shoulder area. Both their expressions were hardened and their gazes were fixed straight ahead neither caring about the endangering their secret.

"We have to find out what that sound was. There could be a hurt animal," Sasha said aloud in an urgent tone.

"If there is, we're gonna raise the Pit," the mechling agreed firmly. All Midnight did was snuggle deeper into Sasha's backpack. Zettabyte accelerated his pace, careful not to step on any large plants or small animals. Upon finally reaching their destination, the human and Cybertronian were unprepared for the sight that they came to.

A large metal structure, not unlike that of a portion of an industrial factory, stood before them. However, it looked old and abandoned with a few vines wildly smothering it and leaves and lumbering trees that looked ready to fall covering it, almost giving camouflaging it. There were no visible windows, just a large metal double door that had vines across it, as if it was imitating a quarantined area or crime scene with police tape. With the aura of the air, it seemed to hit it right on the spot. The halfa took a step to the double door and tore away the vines before placing both servos on the door, digits digging into the space as he waited for his partner to give him a sign that it was alright for him to open it.

"Go for it Zee," the Goth stated, voice quiet but determined.

The Cybertronian teen nodded as he half pried, half ripped the doors open and took a step inside the somewhat dark interior. Thankfully, the ceiling was high enough so the mechling wouldn't need to crouch. The raven-haired girl gave him a tap on the area where his jaw line would be, a sign she wanted to be put down to which the neutral youth obliged. It was at this time that Midnight pushed herself out of the gap in the nature-lover's backpack and meowed. Catching her furry companion's hint, Sasha gently lifted the feline out of her backpack, setting her on the ground, before grabbing the flashlight and turning it on before they continued their investigation.

They began to make their way through the building, Sasha shining her flashlight around so the odd trio could get a better look at their surroundings. The place had the smell of rust, gun powder, and chemicals. Wires, mechanical parts, and computers were scattered everywhere. It almost reminded the Goth of Chip's room whenever he was doing a science project. As they made their way further in, they saw more disarray.

Broken glass, used bullet shells, and shreds of something that were either cloth or papers littered the ground. They caught sight of an overturned table with now rotting food and beverage stains on it on the part of the floor where it tipped over. Sasha blinked when Midnight halted and hissed and looked to where the cat was hissing at. Crumpled metal pieces of what looked to have once been guns laid in the corner, scratches adorning the parts that weren't totally destroyed. But the raven-haired girl saw something else. Dark stains and droplets were inches away from the now totally useless gun that gave off a brick-colored glint. But before Sasha's mind could come to a morbid conclusion, she heard her partner gasp audibly.

"Zetta, what's wrong?!" the Goth asked in a panic tone, swinging herself around and looking up at him while pointing her flashlight in the direction her friend was looking in.

She saw that Zettabyte's optics were wide with fear and shock, staring at something in particular in the left corner. Slowly tearing her eyes from her guardian's face, she turned to look at the area he was focusing on. To her surprise, a rather large screen with a computer console was currently on and located in a far left corner. She began making her way to the screen for a better look, Midnight following right on her heels. As she stopped a few inches away from the screen, she finally got a good look at it. The screen background was a bright orange and had different blueprints and files open. It was then that she caught sight of one word in particular; M.E.C.H. It finally clicked in her head why her partner was so frightened. This place was property of the ones who tried to capture and do heaven knows what to him.

"Zetta, are these-," the raven-haired girl began but was interrupted by her friend.

"M.E.C.H. files? Yes. And these files show Cybertronian-related material," the neutral youth stated darkly. "Including notes on our anatomy."

The nature-lover suppressed a shiver of unease as she asked, "What happened here?"

"I'm not sure. It looks as if there was a struggle here," the Cybertronian teen stated in a unsure tone. "And by the look of the untouched files, the intruders weren't interested in the information."

This time, Sasha could not prevent the shiver that wracked her body. But as she looked at the computer screen again, she felt a new emotion; anger. Anger at these people for having threatened and hurt her friend just before she met him. Anger at them for wishing to harm his people just to learn more about them for their own benefit. She realized that she was now shaking out of rage. They couldn't leave this place without doing something to get back at these dirtbags. They _had_ to bring them to justice. Suddenly an idea came to mind.

"Zetta, can you see if there are any more files that we can open?" the raven-haired girl asked.

"I can check," the neutral youth responded as he finally became calm enough to speak.

Just as he did when he downloaded information on Sasha's computer, Zettabyte lowered his right index finger and out popped two wires that plugged into the console. Immediately, five or so more files popped up. Meanwhile, the Goth had put away her flashlight and had taken out her turtle USB flash drive. Taking off the cap she looked over the console for USB port. She finally came across one after a few seconds and plugged her flash drive in. Remembering what she learned from Chip, Sasha began typing at the console to download the information into the drive as Zetta's wires retreated.

"C'mon, c'mon," the raven-haired girl hissed impatiently. After a couple of minutes, the downloading finished and Sasha popped the drive out, sealed it, and put it in her backpack. "Yes! Now let's get out of here."

"Agreed," the halfa stated as he scooped up the feline and human. Just as he began to turn away, he stopped and looked back. Then, without warning, he went into his ghost mode, raised a his servo, and obliterated the computer with one ecto-blast. "Just a precaution."

Despite her shocked expression, Sasha nodded in understanding and said casually, "Gotcha."

Placing his companions on his shoulder, Zettabyte ran out of the entrance and kept going as he fiddled with his bracelet. As he ran through the portal, neither he or his charge saw the helicopter landing.

 _A few minutes later in the Ghost Zone; Third Person Perspective_

"Nephilus?! NEPHILUS!" Zettabyte practically screamed as he stopped running to catch his breath. Upon entering the Ghost Zone, the halfa had begun calling out for his mentor and friend in a distressed voice. He was relieved when he saw the soul guider coming towards him and his friends.

"I was just about to go out and fetch you guys! Are you three alright?" the mech asked, his tone full of concern and face held intense worry.

"We're all fine Nephilus. We- Wait! What do you mean you were about to come get us?" the Cybertronian teen asked, his panic subsiding for a moment to make room for confusion.

"I just got news that some Spite Mites escaped into the last night. They travel fast so there was no telling where they could be. So I was going to come get you guys," the cobalt and silver spectre stated before he noticed the icy cold hints of terror in the optics of his student and his human acquaintance. "What's wrong?"

"W-We came across a M.E.C.H. hideout in the rainforest," the neutral youth began explaining. "But we checked it out…it…it was…"

"It was a mess. Like a angry-mob-turned-the-place-upside-down kind of mess. There were no soldiers but we have the feeling that they were attacked out of nowhere," Sasha finished for her guardian, sensing his discomfort and fear.

"Mew," Midnight said weakly, still snuggled in the Goth's arms.

All three watched as Nephilus cursed under his breath in a language they didn't recognize. Suddenly, the mech took out his scythe, and just like before, used it to create a portal.

"You guys need to return to Jasper while I take care of this," the soul guider said firmly.

"But what about your safety?" the mechling asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine. I've dealt with these situations before. Now go," Nephilus ordered sternly, leaving no room for argument as he raced away.

Not willing to disobey his teacher and friend, Zettabyte stepped through the portal he made. As soon as they arrived back into the sandy, desert of Jasper, the halfa looked down at his two companions.

"Now what?" he asked in a tone crossed between unsure and concern.

 _At a hidden location somewhere in the outer regions desert; Third Person Perspective_

Silas tapped his foot as he stood in front of the main computer. While he was a patient man, he did not tolerate tomfoolery of any sort. He had sent two of his men (two was all he could send as a majority were injured thanks to the Cons and he needed the others here) to check on the Costa Rica team. It had been awhile since his two soldiers left, meaning they should have arrived and contacted him already. The other soldiers who were present, mostly new recruits who had been held back from going on the mission last week, could sense their leader's growing ire and were becoming increasingly nervous themselves. They tried to busy themselves with their work while trying to keep the noise level down in fear of awakening the fury that was building up inside their leader.

A minute later, the scarred man grumbled, "What is taking those two i-?"

His rant was stopped when one of the nearby walkie talkies crackled, signaling that someone was trying to communicate. Everyone froze as Silas slowly made his way over to the communication device, snatched it up, and prepared to speak into it.

"Silas here," the M.E.C.H. leader said, almost growling.

 _[Sir, it's Nikolai]_ came a response.

"Nikolai? Where are you? Did you and Benson get to the hideout? If so, why aren't you using their computer to contact us?" the scarred man asked in a demanding tone that bordered on irritation.

 _[We ARE at the hideout sir. We couldn't use the computer because it was destroyed and no one's here except Benson and myself. The whole place is trashed and deserted! There are some signs that indicate that…that the Costa Rica team is no longer alive,]_ the soldier cried over the link. A few others who were in hearing range gasped and muttered shocked questions under their breath.

"What?! How is that possible?" Silas hissed in question, angry and shocked.

 _[We're not one hundred percent sure but we think we know. When Benson and I arrived we saw a Cybertronian running away from the hideout. We think they did it,]_ Nikolai explained.

"Was it an Autobot or a Decepticon?" the M.E.C.H. leader asked impatiently.

 _[We don't know but it we saw that it was blue and red. That's the only thing we got,]_ the soldier said in a finishing tone.

Silas was quiet for a moment before saying, "Salvage what you can and come back immediately."

 _[Yes sir,]_ Nikolai answered before he hung up.

The scarred man calmly set the walkie talkie down as he spoke in cold, callous tone, "So, the Cybertronians are getting bold, are they? Well we'll just have to teach them a lesson."

Not a moment after he said it, one of the new recruits who were stationed at the console spoke up, "Sir, we got word from the scouts that two of the Autobots' human allies have been spotted driving around."

"Is that so? Well then, why don't we have some fun with them," the scarred man said with a sinister grin. "Bring them here."

 _In the inner region of the desert; Third Person Perspective_

"What should we do with the information we got?" Zettabyte asked curiously. It was a couple of minutes after they returned and the Cybertronian and human were debating over what to do with the M.E.C.H. information they had acquired. They were currently hiding behind a large rock formation just a few meters away from the road. His charge was currently standing on the sandy ground.

"Well we can't give it to the police without revealing that there are aliens living among us. We can't post it on the web without getting labeled as conspiracy kooks or getting targeted by the government for submitting suspicious material on the web," the Goth mulled over out loud. "Man, we can't really show this information to anyone, can we?"

"Apparently not. Slag , what are we gonna do now?" the neutral youth muttered.

"We could go home and look through it," the raven-haired girl offered. "That way, we can get a better look at what we're dealing with."

Just as Zettabyte was about to respond, he froze and then looked off into the distance. Before the nature-lover could ask what was wrong, she heard the sound of oncoming vehicles. Turning her head in the direction her partner was staring at, she saw automobiles. One was a rather heavy-looking dark Kelly green and black muscle car that was chasing a white sedan. Sasha looked back to her friend to discover that his faceplates were contorted into an expression of recognition, shock, and horror.

"Zetta? What's wrong?" the raven-haired girl asked fearfully.

"I know both of those vehicles," the Cybertronian teen spoke quietly. "I need to help the ones in that white vehicle. Sasha, you stay here."

"But-!" Sasha began to protest but she was cut short when her partner jumped out from behind the formation and began charging to the two vehicles. "Please be careful."

 _June and Fowler's Perspectives_

Neither the nurse nor the government agent knew what to expect that day. What had just meant to be a drive around the desert turned into a car chase as they try to shake the all-too-familiar, not-so-nice vehicle containing some unwanted company. Unfortunately, their attempts were fruitless as the ones in the muscle car stayed persistent.

"C'mon, c'mon," the obsidian-haired woman pleaded as she desperately tried to evade the pursuers.

"For the love of Teddy Roosevelt, get a signal already," the African-American man growled as he tried to contact the Autobots but to no avail. No doubt the soldiers in the car were blocking the signal.

Both jolted in their seats as the muscle car got close enough to ram them lightly. They knew that they were going to be caught now. However, their dark thoughts were interrupted by tremors that the two adults found very easy to identify and the sound of screeching tires behind them. Stomping on the brake to halt with a screech, June and Fowler turned to look at each other for a moment to make sure they were both alright before they got out to see which of the bots had come to their aid.

What they saw shocked them.

The bot that had come to save them was a total stranger. It was about Bumblebee's height but was blue and red like Optimus, except the shades were different. While they couldn't see the front of the bot, the defensive stance told them that the strange Cybertronian meant to protect them. Their attention switched over to the four individuals that slowly got out of the muscle car. Each of them had powerful looking guns.

"You better get out of the way you walking hunk of metal. This doesn't involve you, tin can!" the soldier to the front right, a male based on the voice, snapped.

"Oh, really?" the Cybertronian spat sarcastically, his voice clarifying that he was indeed male as well and a young one at that. "Because I think terrorizing the innocent does concern me you power-hungry thugs."

The soldier who spoke aimed his gun and fired. The young Cybertronian merely tilted his helm quickly away but remained casual about it. The blast dispersed in the air, dissipating entirely. Before anyone had a chance to react, the titan swooped down and picked up the soldier who had shot at him. Cries of surprise escaped the other masked members as they pointed their guns at the robotic extraterrestrial but didn't dare shoot in fair of invoking the death of their cohort.

"Listen to me and listen carefully," the young male hissed, making sure he had the masked human's attention. "I don't know what quarrel you have with my kind but if you think I'll stand by while you harass the innocent civilians of _your_ own kind, you better think again. All my life I had to endure watching the defenseless be attacked and killed but not anymore. I'm gonna stand and fight for what I believe in. Starting with you. If I catch you chasing helpless humans again, I will come after you.Got it?"

Once the man in his servo nodded his head furiously for a few seconds, he was put down. The man then stumbled for a bit before running to the car, his team mates already getting in themselves. A minute didn't past before the muscle car squealed as it when into reverse before doing a one eighty turn and speeding away.

Silence.

Then the Cybertronian turned to the two adult humans. They now saw that his faceplate was, like a few parts of him, shockingly similar to a certain two-wheeler they knew. The young male's mismatched optics were also a surprise but not a frightful one. In fact, they seemed friendly. Any trace of the malice that he had shown the M.E.C.H. scouts was gone and replaced with a gentle concern. His optics studied them as though to make sure they were alright before he made a move to leave.

"Hey, hey! Stop right there!" Fowler ordered, finally finding his voice. "What's your name? Who are you with? Cons or Bots?"

The young mech twisted around and stared in utter shock before stuttering, "Cons or Bots?! You mean you know that there are other Cybertronians on this planet?!"

Before the government agent could press further, a young girl began running over to the Cybertronian. She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen and was had raven-hair with an amethyst highlight.

"Zetta! Are you alright?" the girl cried out as she stopped at the young mech's pede a gently put a hand on the side.

"I'm fine Sasha. Confused but fine," the young mech, Zetta, answered before turning back to the African American man. "This human apparently is familiar with my kind and the factions."

The teen turned her head to stare at them before asking aloud, "Really?"

"Yes he does. And so do I," June answered as Fowler seemed too shocked to answer. Hearing the girl's name gave the nurse a theory. "Your last name wouldn't happen to be Morgan would it?"

"Yes. Why?" the teen asked carefully.

"You go to school with my son, Jack," the obsidian-haired woman said politely.

"You're Jack's mom?" Sasha echoed in shock to which the nurse nodded.

It was then that Fowler found a chance to speak to the Cybertronian, "And Zetta wouldn't happen to be short for Zettabyte, would it?"

The Cybertronian youth stared at him before asking in a hushed tone, "How did you know?"

The three humans and robotic extrerrestrial remained staring at each other for a bit before the middle-aged man said, "I think you two need to come with us."

 _A few minutes later at the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

"He did what?!" Ratchet nearly screeched.

After some careful reassuring, the Goth and mechling had followed the two adults in their car back to the Auotbot base. Upon arriving, the old medic nearly had a spark attack when he discovered that not only had Zettabyte returned but had also gained a human charge. The Autobot CMO was obviously full of mixed emotions and those emotions had only gotten more tangled when June and Fowler told him the story.

"He sent those punks running. Didn't back down once," the government agent said in a-matter-of-fact tone. "He stood his ground."

"He was very brave," the nurse as she cradled the blue orchid and its makeshift pot in her arms.

Upon meeting the woman who's home he had somewhat invaded, Zetta's guilty conscious got the better of him and he confessed to her what he did and had apologized, going as far as to give the single mother the orchid he picked up. Being a sensible lady and seeing how remorseful he was, not to mention the fact he saved her and her companion, June had accepted the apology and the beautiful specimen of flora.

Sasha, having discovered that Fowler was a government official, had taken out the USB, placed it into his hand, and said he would know what to do with it. The agent was startled and confused but obliged as he saw the deathly serious glint in the high school student's violet orbs. He just hoped none of his acquaintances would laugh at him for the shape of the USB.

"Well we'll just see what Optimus and the others say," Ratchet responded gruffly.

Sasha frowned at the medic from where she stood with the nurse and government agent. The old mech's blunt attitude was becoming aggravating. Almost as if he was more upset that her friend had revealed himself to her and had confronted humans who already knew about the Cybertronians on Earth rather than the fact that the two adults were in danger. Before she could say anything, the Groundbridge opened to allow the ones they had been waiting for in.

The air felt as though it had dropped a good number of degrees as the first to arrive was a familiar moss green vehicle came first. Zettabyte stood rigid, feeling his spark pulse faster with apprehension and fear. He looked at his charge and the look he saw on her face only added to his own stress. Her mouth was gapped and her eyes were wide open. In their depths, he saw the following emotions; shock, horror, and a barely controlled seething anger that bordered on hatred.

And all of it was focused on the Wrecker as he transformed into his bipedal mode.

As soon as he was finished transforming, Bulkhead's optics locked on the ruby and sapphire mechling who immediately froze like a deer caught in a car's headlights. The heavy armored mech narrowed his optics at the youngling. However, his narrowed gaze immediately changed when he locked eyes with a certain, fuming raven-haired girl who he hadn't seen since he dropped her and Miko off at the monster truck show. If looks could kill, there would be nothing of him left except a scorched mark on the ground to show where he once stood.

Just as Sasha was about to let loose a string of expletives, she was stopped by two voices calling her name in surprise.

"SASHA?!"

The Goth's head snapped to the direction of the voices and her purple orbs met two sets; one blue and one brown.

"Surprise," the raven-haired girl couldn't help but say through nearly grit teeth and anger still bubbled in her for the moss green mech just feet away from her. Agent Fowler had already revealed that her two classmates were in on the secret and while she was surprised, she was more angry as she continued to glare hard at the Wrecker.

That was until the motorcycle-turned-femme rushed over and hugged her guardian.

Arcee could care less about the stares she was receiving from her teammates, her leader, and the humans. She felt her spark beat with joy as she wrapped her arms around the mechling. After a second or so, Sasha was staring hard at her.

The nature-lover watched as the sapphire femme hugged her friend. Zetta could only allow the older female Cybertronian to hold him, afraid to cause offense should he pull away. However, he did notice his spark grow warmer with the presence of the two-wheeler Autobot. The same kind of warmth a Cybertronian youth would feel when reconnecting with someone dear.

"I like sweet moments as much as the next guy but I think Zetta here has had enough, Arcee," Team Prime's liaison said a bit awkwardly.

"Whoa, wait! Zetta? As in Zettabyte?! This is him?!" Jack cried in flabbergasted tone, pointing at the ruby and sapphire mechling that his guardian had finally stopped hugging.

"Jackson Darby we do NOT point at others," June scolded her son sternly. "But yes, his name is Zettabyte."

"So this is Jack," Zettabyte said as he took a few steps towards the male human teen. "Sasha has told me much about you."

"Really?" the onyx-haired teen questioned, a little too nervous to look at his classmate who was standing beside his mother and the Autobot liaison.

"Yes. She and I both agree that you have the merit of being the responsible adult as though it's second nature," the ruby and sapphire mechling said kindly, causing the young human male to smile.

"Thanks," the teen boy said casually but genuinely pleased.

"Where did you get that flower from Ms. Darby?" Raf asked, pointing at the orchid in the woman's arms.

"Oh, Zetta gave this to me. It turns out he was the friend that retrieved Sasha's bike for her," the nurse explained calmly.

"WHAT?!" Bulkhead roared.

Zettabyte immediately stepped away, pressing himself against a wall.

"Bulkhead! Enough!" Ratchet snapped irritably. "We've discussed your attitude problem already and how you should treat Zettabyte from now on."

"That was before I found out he was gonna go around sneaking into the kids' houses," the Wrecker growled as he took a menacing step towards the neutral youth.

"WAIT! _You're_ Bulkhead?" Sasha almost shrieked. "The Bulkhead who chased Zetta out because of who he is and how he thinks?!"

There was a pause of silence.

Then, in a voice that almost sounded too low and dark for a girl her age, the Goth said, "You. Are. Gonna. Die."

Before anyone could register what was happen, the nature-lover grabbed a piece of pipe that was leaning against the wall behind her, ran down the stairs, and charged at the moss-colored mech. Seeing the murder in her eyes, Bulkhead fearfully backed up, only to trip on his pedes and fall against the console, denting a great deal of it.

"Bulkhead! We needed that!" Ratchet screamed.

Seeing a partner in a state of distress and chaos, the Cybertronian teen hurried and picked up his human friend.

"Sasha, what-!" Zettabyte began.

"He was the one who drove Miko and I to that stupid monster truck show!" she snapped, pointing at the Wrecker as she hissed at said mech. "If it's not bad enough you tried to hurt Zetta for who he is but he's partnered with that little witch!"

Now it was the ruby and sapphire mechling's turn to be shocked and angry. And he would have gladly thrown himself at the larger mech if Bumblebee hadn't caught the loathing look in his optics and grabbed his shoulder plates to prevent him from doing just that.

"You slagging piece of Cyber trash!" Zettabyte hissed in a hateful voice. "Are you completely stupid or do you just not care for others besides your precious Miko?"

"Keep talking, punk," the moss-colored mech snarled as he got back up.

"Here I was ready to forgive you for chasing me out and I find out that you were the reason why my friend could have _died_?!" the halfa growled.

"Whoa! Wait a minute! What do you mean almost died?" Fowler asked abruptly.

"Zetta and I met when he saved me from being crushed by the stadium when it started crumbling," the raven-haired girl said, starting to calm down a bit. "I lied and told the Sandersons that I got a ride from a classmate who took me to a place to blow off steam. It's so they wouldn't worry. I _would_ have called the Sandersons to come get me before the stadium collapsed but my phone died."

Everyone turned to look at Zettabyte.

"It's true," he confirmed. "I was near the stadium when it was collapsing. I saw Sasha was going to be crushed so I just flew into action."

 **[All by yourself? Wow!]** Bumblebee complimented as he took his servos off the other mechling.

"So you've been with Sasha all this time?" Optimus asked Zettabyte patiently.

"Yes and no," the Cybertronian teen answered.

"What do you mean?" Arcee asked.

"There were times where I stayed in Sasha's garage…other times…I was on the _Nemesis_ ," the neutral youth confessed.

"I knew it! I knew your loyalty was heading towards Con Central!" Bulkhead spat angrily.

"Hey! If saving Zee from psychos like M.E.C.H. is evil, maybe you should try it sometime rust bucket!" the Goth hissed with equal if not more rage.

"WHAT?!" the femme screamed. "When was this?!"

"The day before I met Sasha," the halfa admitted before quickly adding, "But they never hurt me! They even allowed me to use one of the rooms that belonged to one of their scientists!"

"Really?" the Autobot medic asked curiously. "What was in there? Can you sneak any of the material here?"

"No, don't do it Zee," the nature-lover butted in before turning to the other bots. "Zetta doesn't owe you guys _anything_. You have no right asking him to spy on the ones who saved him."

"Sasha, you don't know what the Decepticons are like," Jack spoke up. "We've seen them up close in battle. They're far from merciful, let alone trustworthy."

"And _you_ don't know what they're _truly_ like when they're not fighting," Zettabyte responded back. "The only reason they hate Autobots is because they all _think_ that you're fighting to return Cybertron back into the caste era."

"And how do you know this?" prodded Optimus.

"Because they told me," the neutral youth said boldly.

 _Flashback a few days ago on the Nemesis; Zettabyte's Perspective_

" _So…," Zettabyte began asked he attempted to start a conversation up with two of the Vehicons who were off duty. "What's it like being part of the Decepticons? I mean, being an official member and whatnot._

" _Better than working for those kiss-up Autobots," the Vehicon, who had identified himself as W4LL3, replied with a grumble. "Like they really believe in that 'freedom is the right of all sentient beings' scrap their Prime spews."_

 _The halfa was taken aback as he asked again, "What do you mean?"_

 _The other Vehicon, B3N, snorted as he replied for his comrade, "Please. You think they really care about equality for others. They're just doing the dirty work for the surviving nobles. They're nothing but Sheepicrons."_

" _Think about it. Most of the Autobots are from classes only two or three steps below the upper caste. We're at the bottom. Who would have a better chance of rubbing elbows with heartless snobs," W4LL3 said scornfully._

" _Not to mention their precious Prime started out like all the other Primes; a noble with no experience with leadership, politics, or law," B3N added bitterly. "The great Optimus Prime is just making stuff up as he goes along."_

" _The guy says he's seen us go through injustice but the fragger doesn't know the half of it," W4LLE muttered as he began to walk away. "He didn't have to work himself to death mining energon before the war. He wasn't fighting for his life inside the Pits. And he certainly wasn't struggling to survive!"_

" _I'm telling you kid; if this war ends in the Autobot's favor, there's no hope for true peace let alone Cybertron's restoration," B3N said finally as he too left, leaving a shocked Zettabyte standing alone in the hallway._

 _End Flashback_

Everyone stared at the neutral youth who finished re-telling the tale.

"And you all know what? I believe them," the Cybertronian teen said bravely. "No one came to their aid or defense during Sentinel's reign or any other past Primes' reign. Why would they believe Optimus could help them now? Especially when he came from the same class as all the Primes before him?"

"Zettabyte, you can't really believe that the past justifies the Cons' actions," the Autobot CMO reasoned.

"But it's the past that led up to those actions! You're not gonna look me in the optics and tell me that if they had been treated better, this way still would've happened," the neutral youth argued back. "You know, the humans have a little debate here on Earth called Nurture vs Nature. Basically it's saying that individuals become who they are based on their genetics or their environment. I'm pretty sure that in the Cons' case, Nature is the factor. They had to kill to continue living. It's no surprise that they are killing _your_ faction."

"That's exactly why you have to come back with us! It won't be long before one of them kills you!" the femme pleaded. "Here you'll be safe."

"Yeah? For how long? Until the Autobots win and the nobles who survived or their descendents rise again to reshape Cybertron into the classist prison it was? Why do you even allow nobles into your faction? You do know the majority of them are just doing it for survival, right? They don't care about the fact that their ignorance and arrogance led to all of this. Some of them won't even bother to remember the names of any of the mechs and femmes who died in the name of the Autobots," Zettabyte replied stubbornly.

Arcee opened her mouth to argue but nothing came out. She knew he was right. While the fallen Autobots would be remembered by a few of their fellow comrades, there was a very high chance that none of those mourning comrades would be from the upper caste. In fact, the two-wheeler was practically certain that said nobles would try to rebuild the lives they had before the war while not learning any lesson about the consequences of their pre-world actions.

"That doesn't excuse the things they've done in this war," Bulkhead grumbled.

"What about the things they did before the war? The energon they mined for the other castes? The toiling they did as slaves? And what about the Autobots who were nothing but low-lives before they joined up? What about the thieves, illegal racers, and corrupted individuals? How can any of you forget about that?" the ruby and sapphire mechling looked at everyone as he said it.

The humans and Autobots, excluding Bulkhead, had become more intent on listening, have quieted themselves down.

"And while we're at it, has anyone ever wondered why it seems like the Decepticons are winning?" the halfa asked but received no answer. "They've experienced hardships before. They've know what struggling to survive is like. They know how to respond. None of you did at first. And the things you are learning just barely scratch the surface of the survival skills they have honed."

"Feh, do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?" Bulkhead barked cruelly.

"Better watch what you say, garbage heap," the Goth gritted out. "In case you have forgotten, neither you aren't exactly righteous yourself. Especially since you partnered with Miko."

"What is that suppose to mean?" the Wrecker crouched down to meet Sasha's hateful gaze with a steely glare himself.

"Because Zettabyte never made Mrs. Sanderson cry," the nature-lover muttered coldly.

 _The day before: Sasha's Perspective_

 _Sasha didn't know what drew her to the Sanderson's backyard. She had come out to take the compost pile to the shed so she could grind it up before spreading it over the garden. That's when she heard it._

 _Quiet sobbing._

 _She couldn't identify it at first but as she got closer, she could make out the choked gasps and sniffles. She had hopped over the fence that separated the houses and turned around the corner. She froze when she found the source of the painful noises._

 _Nora Sanderson was kneeling in her garden, dressed in her pale yellow gardening outfit, furiously wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. The raven-haired girl felt her heart plummet. She hadn't seen anyone cry this hard since her grandfather's death._

" _Mrs. Sanderson?" Sasha asked cautiously._

 _Immediately, the blonde woman's head shot up. She seemed to be shocked and mortified that the teen had caught her in such a state._

" _Oh, hello Sasha," Nora said, sniffling while forcing a smile on her face despite her watery eyes, red eyes. "Did you need something sweetie?"_

" _No, I'm fine," the nature-lover said reassuringly. "I just came to see what you're doing out here so late in the afternoon."_

" _Oh, I just needed some quiet time to myself is all. Since Miko is confined to her room, she's been playing her guitar non-stop," the Sanderson matriarch bit her lip. "At least she's not repeatedly getting into shouting matches with my husband and I like the first time we grounded her."_

" _Well that's…fortunate," the Goth nodded awkwardly. "Are you alright?"_

" _Oh, I'm fine. Just got dirt in my eyes," the blonde tried to lie as she got up and dusted herself off. "It happens."_

" _I see," Sasha nodded though both female humans knew it was a terrible lie. "Have you…gotten any letters from Scott?"_

" _Hmm? Oh yes! He sent us a letter saying he was having a good time and he's doing well. He sent pictures and everything," Nora said, trying to sound cheerful. "He even mailed us the grades he currently has. All As and Bs. Isn't that wonderful?"_

" _It does," Sasha said sincerely with a soft genuine smile of her own. "Maybe I could write him a letter to go with yours when you write him back."_

" _I'm sure Scott would like that," the older woman nodded. "Well I better go inside and make dinner for everyone."_

" _Alright. I'll see you later," the Goth bid her goodbye as she turned to go back to her house but stopped and turned around. "Mrs. Sanderson?"_

" _Hmm?" Nora hummed in question._

" _I'm always here if you feel like having someone to talk to," Sasha offered gently, waiting for a reaction._

 _The Sanderson matriarch gave a sincere smile as she said, "I'd like that very much."_

 _Sasha smiled as she turned and started walking back to her house._

 _End Flashback_

"The Sandersons may not be yours or Miko's idea of "cool" people but they don't deserve to be driven to their wits ends just so she can see what she can get away with. They're good people," the raven-haired girl explained briskly to the moss-colored mech. "I'll admit, I may have issues with authority at times but at least I've never done any of the stupid, selfish stunts she does."

"Easy Sasha. Perhaps it's not completely Miko's fault," Zettabyte put in before he sent Bulkhead a nasty look. "Maybe the reason she acts so terrible is because her _partner_ acts that way too."

That was the last straw for the Wrecker.

With an angry roar, Bulkhead launched himself towards the neutral youth. He did _not_ see it coming.

As if he was dodging a jogging passerby, Zettabyte coolly and swiftly stepped to the side at the last minute, letting his right leg stick out a bit. The moss mech tripped before landing face first on the floor. Before he could even get up, Optimus came over, grabbed Bulkhead by the shoulder plating, lifted him up, turned him to face him, and gave him an icy stare.

"Bulkhead. That is enough. Go to your quarters and wait there," the Autobot leader commanded in a cold tone. "You will remain there until I come to get you."

Bulkhead didn't even attempt to argue as he made his way towards his room. He did, however, stop to give Zetta a growl and a death glare to which the ruby and sapphire mechling just responded with a hard look.

"We're done here," the Cybertronian teen declared, catching everyone but Sasha off guard ashe made he set Sasha down.

 **[What?! But you just returned!]** the yellow and black mechling protested helplessly.

"A mistake that I will not repeat a third time," the halfa said calmly. "It's obvious I can't persuade any of you to understand as you all can't change my mind."

"You don't have to leave right away," Raf added politely.

"No. Sasha and I must take our leave. It's better this way," Zettabyte stated before saying in an apologetic tone aimed towards the human members, "I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. I hope that next time we meet, it's under better ones."

"No, don't-!" the sapphire femme began to plead again but was stopped by the Prime.

"You are welcome here whenever you wish to contact us, Zettabyte," Optimus offered with a kind tone.

Not even acknowledging the gesture, the neutral youth transformed, allowed the Goth to enter his passenger door, before driving out of the base.

Arcee would have gladly followed if the medic and Prime hadn't held her back.

 _Three hours later at Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

Sasha poked in frustration at her rice bowl which included tofu, corn, black and red beans, sweet potato, bell peppers, mushrooms, and cauliflower. To say she was too upset to eat would have been an understatement. To have to watch as her partner's opinions and ideals be shot down was infuriating.

She was thankful that Midnight hadn't jumped out of her bag while they were at the Autobot base or there could have been even more problems. The feline was currently taking a nap in Sasha's room in the dark blue and white bed that her caregiver had fashioned out of an old winter sweater, some old rags, and a pool noodle she found in the shed.

"You really should eat," Zettabyte spoke up softly to his charge. "There's no use in starving yourself."

"I know. I just can't believe what happened today," the nature-lover took a few bites before taking a sip of her berry smoothie. "It's like they weren't even fully considering what you and I were saying. Didn't it feel like we were arguing with a brick wall, didn't it?"

"Seems to be that way," the metallic titan sighed to his partner. "Their anger has made them forgotten that not all Decepticons join Megatron out of hate and ambition and not all Autobots joined Optimus out of the desire for equality and peace."

"I know! It's like they just let us talk so we'd shut up faster," the Goth mumbled in exasperation.

"It's hard for the ethnocentric to admit the faults of their people," the halfa stated simply with a shrug.

"That's probably it," the raven-haired girl muttered.

Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Sasha's Smartphone.

"Hold that thought Zee," Sasha stated as she answered. "Hello? Oh hey Sawyer!"

The nature-lover paid no mind to the fact that Zetta was watching and listening. He had proven to be very supportive of the idea that she spent as much time with her friends as she liked.

"Really? Is your grandmother okay with that?" the Goth asked into her phone, waiting for a response be she replied, "Alright, sure. I'm gamed. See you tomorrow."

"What did he say?" the neutral youth asked curiously as his charge ended the call.

"He asked me to hang out with him tomorrow," the raven-haired girl explained. "We're gonna go watch another movie, check out the greenhouse, make some homemade pizza together and munch on some more of Addie and Colette's goodies, and maybe play a video game or something."

"That sounds nice," Zettabyte said genuinely kind. "Is he gonna pick you up or do you need to me drop you off after my session with Nephilus tomorrow?"

"He said he would pick me up so we don't have to worry about anything except being at here at five o'clock tomorrow when he arrives," the Goth answered casually. "I am worried about what you'll do while I'm with Sawyer."

"Oh, I'll probably just go for a drive, do some a little tinkering here and there, or something. I'll figure it out," the Cybertronian teen reassured.

"Thanks Zee," Sasha said gratefully as she smiled. "What did I ever do to get a great friend like you?"

"You were just there for me," Zettabyte replied with a warm smile. "That's all a great friend asks for in return."

 _At the Autobot base; Optimus' Perspective_

Optimus sat in his room, staring at the floor. Today couldn't have been more far from good as it could be. They had found Zettabyte and now knew where he now resided but that didn't change the fact that things were still sour between the Cybertronian youth and the team Wrecker. It was most probable that the mechling wouldn't set pede again into their abode for some time. The Prime wasn't the only one who was displeased.

Arcee had run off to her quarters. June had began viciously scolding the medic and Prime, saying that it was Bulkhead's roughness that put Zettabyte in the position he was currently in. It had ended with her saying that if anything happened to Zetta and or Sasha, whether it was at their hands or the Cons' hands, the nurse would never forgive them or allow the children back to the base.

The Autobot leader knew that the human matriarch had every right to be angry with him. He also knew that many of the things Zettabyte said were true. Up until that moment, the former archivist how the Decepticons had lived through misfortune much longer than any other Cybertronians he knew. The hope, determination, and compassion that the mechling had spoken with was almost no different than how he and Megatron use to speak to their friends, lower caste bots, and any other bot they thought could be persuaded.

"You have much potential young Zettabyte," Optimus said out loud to the emptiness of his berth room. "I just hope that you know what you're doing."

Here it is! Chapter 9! I'm sorry for the late update and the lack of the holiday fics I promised. This winter was one of my more mediocre ones. And this semester of college is gonna be hectic for me. But I promise that I will try to be more punctual with these main fics. Again haters will be ignored and flamers will flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	10. Chapter 10: Pizza and Holoforms

Chapter 10: Pizza and Holoforms

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _At Sasha's House at noon: Third Person Perspective_

"Do you think Agent Fowler will give you back your USB when he's done with it?" Zettabyte asked out of the blue.

"He might. Depends on if he downloads the information from it or chooses to leave it on and hold onto it a little while longer," Sasha replied. She was currently digging into a breakfast of hash browns, almond milk, grapefruit, and soy eggs. Midnight was curled up next to her feet, seeming to have forgotten about the previous day's events.

The raven-haired girl wore a brick red tank top with a bronze snake on it. With it, she wore a black jean jacket and pants. Her socks were black with white skulls and she wore black tennis shoes. Her hair was down and she wore currant red lip gloss.

"Do you…do you Nephilus and the others are alright?" Zettabyte asked with a concerned tone.

The Goth's reply was immediate, "Of course he is. Nephilus has been doing this long before we met. He's too pro to go down that easy."

This seemed to comfort the Cybertronian youth. After she put her empty plates in the kitchen, Sasha returned with her backpack and Midnight and got into her friend's vehicle form. As the mechling backed out of the garage, Sasha did the usual glance over at the Sanderson house to see if anyone had picked out. When she was satisfied, the nature-lover gave her guardian the word to continue. The moment the halfa was told it was alright, he speeded off into the desert.

 _Ten minutes later in the desert; Third Person Perspective_

Letting his partner and the feline out, Zetta turned into his bipedal mode and took out his gauntlet, putting it on his wrist. However, before he could start twisting to the glyphs that would open the portal, a bright green vortex appeared before the three beings.

"Uh…I didn't do that," the neutral youth stated awkwardly.

Sasha stared at her guardian, "Then who-?"

She was abruptly interrupted by a flash of white zipping out of the portal. If it weren't for the familiar hooting, Zettabyte would have striked right there and then.

"Baylina!" the Cybertronian teen exclaimed with a grin as the avian came to perch on his shoulder plating, nuzzling the side of his faceplate. The mechling picked up the Goth and feline and brought them up to level with the owl.

Sasha grinned and petted the bird's silky smooth and soft snowy feathers. Baylina let out a chirp of content and leaned into the touch. Midnight rubbed against her feathered friend. Suddenly, Baylina ruffled her wings and took flight, circling above them and hooting before flying into the portal.

"I think she wants us to follow her," the raven-haired girl claimed.

"Then let's go," Zettabyte responded as he made his way through the portal as well.

What they saw on the other side was a shock.

Instead of the usual dark, quiet, and almost abstract view of the Ghost Zone, they found themselves in a sea of green. The green, to be exact, was in the form of plants and trees. Countless of them. Trees were covered in so many vines, mosses, and other epiphytes that it was hard to see the trunks of the towering perennial plants. Yet the trees themselves looked to be equally thriving as the fruit, flowers, and leaves looked to be fresh. Leaves, flower petals, and other fallen bits decorated the ground like a wild carpet. Some were recognizable while others looked to be some whole new species. Turquoise, Blush, Violet, Scarlet, Emerald, Amber, Gold; every color known to Earth was the color of the flowers and fruit. There were bushes and smaller plants scattered all around. Like the trees, the flowers, fruit, and leaves were healthy and vibrant. A few meters away, a lake with streams surrounding it had flowers and leavers floating on the surface like humble little boats.

Suddenly the tree branches and other flora around them began to quake. Slowly, the spying creatures came into view. There were the normal animals one would expect in an environment such as this like squirrels, turtles, deer, rabbits, and other forestry creatures. There also more out-of-place animals like big cats, lambs, small lizards, tropical birds, marsupials, and others. And finally there were the exotic animals that looked like they were pulled from books of ancient lore; tall colorful birds with strange beaks and wings, small serpentine creatures with horns and feathers, furry yet gorgeous quadrupeds that were sorted from large cervidae-like creatures to small rodent like specimens, fairy-like insects, and many others. A few seemed to be uncaring of the of the newcomers' unfamiliar presence while others seemed to gaze with curiosity at them.

"Where are we?" the mechling asked, still in awe as he gazed at their surroundings.

"I don't know but it's beautiful and lush," the nature-lover breathed. Neither youth minded the fact that Midnight had climbed onto a tree and was pawing at a small plant growing on one of the branches.

"I think this is some part of the Ghost Zone but why did we end up here?" the halfa questioned, both himself and his companion.

"Because I made it so," a familiar voice said from somewhere amongst the foliage. A familiar apple green, white, sky blue, and tan frame appeared before them.

"Lady Terrana, hello! I should have figured out this was your domain," Zettabyte smiled enthusiastically. "Only the Spirit of Earth would have a vast and green territory like this."

"Yes, welcome to the Ever Emerald Gardens, home to countless plants and animals, spirits or not," the Earth spirit said humbly with a soft smile. "I see your little feline friend is getting comfy with my wild _Nepeta Cataria_."

Both Sasha and Zetta's head/helm snapped to see that Midnight was now rolling in a small bundle of leaves with pale lilac flowers, purring.

"Midnight!" the two teens have scolded half laughed.

"Oh, it's quite alright. All creatures are welcomed in my garden. Come, I'll show you more around," the nature femme said as she started to make her way through the foliage, gesturing for them to follow. Feeling safe to leave their cat friend where she was, they followed.

As they walked with Terrana, other creatures, plants, and objects. Pillars carved of different types of rock stood tall with flowery vines decorating them like colorful garland with countless gemstones poking out of the sediments like ornaments. Similar statues of different creatures like wolves, bears, pegasi, large birds, nymphs, selkies, angel-like beings, and even some elegant Grecian-like people were scattered about. There were bodies of water of different shapes and sizes in every open expanse of grass. The water was clear, showing the fish, seashells, lily pads and other extraordinary marine flora and fauna. The air became rich with the clean smell of ripe fruit, wet soil, and fragrant flowers as they walked further in.

Suddenly, they arrived at a rather large fountain. It looked to be made of marble and had golden glyphs of an unknown language all over it like golden vines. Quartz gems and diamonds dotted the rims of the fountain base. There was a circle of jade stones near said base as well. Bushels of flowers clung to the upper parts of the structure. However, unlike the other fountains they had seen, this one was burbling with Power Nectar.

"What a gorgeous fountain. It suits this lovely place very well," the Cybertronian youth complimented kindly.

"Why thank you. I crafted this beauty myself. It's my own personal touch to my territory," the Earth spirit proclaimed proudly.

"Do the other spirits have their own Nectar source?" the raven-haired girl asked with interest.

"Yes but that is not to say that we're the only ones with access to the Nectar. There are some special caverns on Earth and in the Ghost Zone that have Nectar in both liquid and crystal form, not unlike the Energon that Cybertronians need," the nature femme's faceplates suddenly turned dour. "I do NOT appreciate the way they ruin the soil, knock over plants, frighten animals, and burn the Earth just to get it."

"I assure you my Lady, I am NOT at all happy with the harm my kind are placing upon this planet either," the neutral youth reassured firmly. His human charge rubbed his neck gently from where she sat on his shoulder plating.

"No need for the "my Lady." And I believe you Zettabyte. You're one of the good ones. You've always have been," Terrana reassured with kind smile. She then proceeded to pluck a blue fruit from a tall tree. It was a bright azure and the size of large grapefruit. Dipping it in the Nectar, she then held it to the mechling's mouth, a gesture that meant she wanted him to try it.

Not wanting to be rude and finding the offer rather appetizing, Zettabyte opened his mouth to accept the sample. The Earth spirit dropped it into his waiting jaws and watched as he chewed. Indigo and magenta juices dripped down his chin. The taste was amazing! It reminded the young mechling of the floral scented, sweet Energon caramelized Cybon-bons with spiced gel his Amma would buy after she picked him up after his classes.

"How was it?" Sasha asked with anticipation.

"Oh my Primus, this is so good!" the Cybertronian teen said excitedly as he wiped his mouth.

"I'm glad you liked it," Terrana laughed gently. "Another fact about Nectar; if you consume it with an organic piece, it will be similar to what you usually eat and it won't hurt your systems."

"Really?" Zettabyte asked, astounded when the nature femme nodded. He placed the Goth on the ground. Almost immediately, she strode over to a bush that had orange pear-like fruits. Plucking one, she took it over to the fountain and dipped it in before taking a bite.

"Mmmm!" Sasha moaned as the fruit's natural tartness and crispness mixed with the Nectar. The ruby and sapphire mechling smiled until he realized something.

"Lady Terrana, where is Nephilus?" he questioned carefully.

"He's recovering from yesterday's Spite Mite issue. He wasn't hurt too badly but the little parasites did get a good few swipes in before he subdued them," Terrana explained. "He's with Riversong. Knowing those too, they're taking advantage of his time off."

The halfa took note of the snort in the Earth spirit's voice and, without thinking, asked, "I've been meaning to ask but are Nephilus and Riversong….you know…"

The nature femme smiled and answered, "Yes, they are together, in the romantic sense. What brought this question on?"

"Well it's just that Nephilus always has his cloak crinkled and he has this odor on him…" the neutral youth trailed off in embarrassment.

Terrana shook her helm as she said, "Those two and their libidos."

Sasha laughed whilst she gave half of her treat to a small serpentine creature.

 _Four hours later in the Jasper desert; Third Person Perspective_

"Bye Lady Terrana! Thank you!" the two teens called in unison as they exited the portal.

"Rowr!" Midnight meowed loudly as if say the same thing which she probably was.

They heard a faint goodbye as the portal closed. They had spent a good deal of the past four hours relaxing in the garden, playing with the animals, and having a good time in general. Sasha's hair and under clothes were a bit soaked from when she dived into one of the lakes. Midnight was covered in small bits of dirt and flower petals from when she chased some of the garden animals playfully. Zettabyte's mouth was smudged with juices, almost as if he had been hit in the mouth by every color of paint on an artist's palette.

"Well we better get home and get cleaned up," the nature-lover commented as her partner transformed into his vehicle mode and allowed her inside.

"Hey Sasha, would it be okay if I go hang out on the Nemesis?" the Cybertronian teen asked.

"Of course. You don't need my permission. And don't let what Bulk-for-brains said yesterday get to you," the Goth said firmly. "You have a will and life of your own and he has no right judging you for it."

"You know what? You're right," the neutral youth said as he took off towards Sasha's house.

 _Why do I even care what he thinks?_ the halfa thought to himself, the little doubt hanging stubbornly like an aggravating metal flake stuck in his armor.

 _One hour later at Sasha's house: Sasha's Perspective_

After a warm shower for herself and Midnight and giving Zetta a large wet towel to clean his mouth with, she had gotten dressed, fed the female feline, and bid her friend goodbye. She was currently observing herself in the mirror whilst her cat friend was sleeping in her homemade bed.

She had her hair in a fishtail braid and wore berry purple lipstick. She painted her fingernails a wine color with black and white stripes. She wore a mulberry off-the-shoulder blouse with a sangria tank top beneath and a boysenberry skirt with plum colored socks and eggplant purple high tops. She smiled at her reflection and took a deep breath before turning to the door. Not a moment after locking the door behind her, did a familiar vehicle pull up.

"Hey Sasha!" the soccer-player called from where he sat in the driver's seat, waving at her with a smile. As she got in, the Goth noted that he was wearing a dark orange shirt over a pale blue lone-sleeve shirt, white khakis, and gray sneakers.

"Hey Sawyer!" Sasha greeted with a smile as she buckled up.

"Hey I hope you don't mind but I was thinking we could watch a movie at my house. I just thought that it was better because I don't think any good movies are out. It's cool if you don't feel like it," Sawyer said, rubbing the back of his head as they drove.

Despite the small sensation of a blush on her cheeks, Sasha replied, "That sounds alright. I don't mind."

"Oh good. And I told my grandma that you're vegetarian and love eating healthy so she bought some organic produce including cauliflower so we can make a cauliflower crust pizza," the African American teen said.

"Oh my gosh, I haven't had cauliflower crust pizza since the beginning of the June!" the nature-lover grinned excitedly. "I didn't know you liked it too."

"Are you kidding me? I love it! My parents use to make it whenever they went on their diets. It's one of the greatest things they ever made to get me to eat more veggies and it worked!" Sawyer grinned back.

Minutes later they arrived at his house which was two-story. It was colored a modest pale yellow with a dark brown tile roof. A short pebble path led to the front porch which had a rocking chair right beside it. A neat flower bed lay near the side of the house just near a lovely antique-looking bird bath. A large tree stood just a few feet away from the path. The house itself had no fence but it did have an impressive lawn and a neat little pale yellow garage attached to it. Parked in front of the house was a dark blue minivan and standing beside it were two people.

One of them was an African American woman, who looked to be in her late sixties or early seventies, dressed in neat ruffle lilac blouse with a navy blue skirt and creamy low-heel shoes. Her hair was in an elegant bun and she wore wine colored lipstick. A much younger woman stood next to her. She looked to be of Indian heritage and wore a light red dress suit with dark-colored low-heel shoes. Her hair was down and she wore maroon lipstick. Both women smiled gently and politely as Sawyer pulled up.

"Hey Grandma. Hey Abhijita," Sawyer greeted with a grin as he and Sasha got out and walked towards them. "This is Sasha. Sasha, this is my grandmother, Jennifer Storm and Abhijita Anand. She's the granddaughter of one her friends."

"It's nice to meet you Sasha," Jennifer said with a smile as she took Sasha's hand shook it gently.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Ms. Storm," Sasha replied kindly. "And you as well Ms. Anand."

"Call me Abhijita," Abhijita said kindly in a respectful accented voice.

"I wish we could stay but Abhijita is taking some olds friends of mind and myself to her grandmother's home for a small potluck and I think we're already a little bit late. But I hope we can get together and talk a bit more sometime soon," the older Storm matriarch said with a genuine smile.

"I'd like that very much," the raven-haired girl said with sincere smile of her own. The older women then hugged Sawyer and gave him a kiss on the cheek before Abhijita helped her get into the minivan.

"Have a great time at the potluck Grandma!" Sawyer called out as the minivan began pulling away.

"I will hon. You just make sure Sasha gets comfortable. And lock the door!" Jennifer called out before the vehicle finally gained some speed and drove off as the two teens made their way to the house.

 _On the Nemesis; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte smiled brightly and waved to the Vehicons as best as he could as he made his way towards his room. In his arms were different parts and tools that he was going to need for the tinkering he would be doing.

"Hello Airachnid," the mechling said politely to the femme as he passed her. She gave no response. Brushing off the spider femme's still cold demeanor towards him, the Cybertronian teen made it to his temporary quarters. Dropping his materials on the desk, he was about to sit down when he heard a knock at the door.

"Hey Zetta, it's Breakdown," the gruff voice of the ex-Wrecker came.

Opening the door Zettabyte smiled at his rescuer, "Hello Breakdown what's up?"

"Just came to give you some Energon if you got hungry. With all the stuff I saw you bring in, I assume that you're gonna pull some all-night, am I right?" the blue mech joked with smile.

"You caught me. I have some ideas and hopefully, if I get the prototypes running, then I can show them around. Thank you for the Energon Breakdown," the halfa said kindly as he took the cube.

"Not a problem. And I'm sure your prototypes are gonna be great. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I heard Megatron tell Soundwave that he has high hopes for you," the brawler said encouragingly.

"Megatron said THAT about me?" the neutral youth asked in shock. No one but his Amma and a few of his teachers had said that about him.

"Cross my spark. So I gotta get back to work so I'll see you later kid," Breakdown then departed.

Smiling brightly, Zettabyte retreated back into his quarters, closed the door, and sat back at his desk. As he began sorting the tools and parts, he came across something peculiar. A dark green visor, not unlike the black one that Megatron took, was mixed with the parts. He wondered how it got there when he remembered that he had gotten most of his materials from a scrap pile in the lower parts of the ship. They must have been a part of the scraps and he must have picked up by mistake. While he wasn't sure he would ever find a use for it, the mechling was never one to just throw something away immediately.

Setting it aside, he continued organizing his materials. When one of the wrenches fell, he reached down to grab it when yet another knock interrupted him.

"Hey kid, it's me. Open up please," came the smooth voice of the Decepticon CMO.

"Coming!" the mechling stated as he got up from his seat and opened the doors yet again. He was met with the cool faceplates of the vain mech. "Yes Doctor?"

"Please, call me Knock Out. I got word from Breakdown that you might be pulling an all-nighter so I'm just here to tell you to take it easy. Don't push yourself too hard," the ruby Decepticon said with an air of softness that was new to the ruby and sapphire mechling. The tone somehow created a warm and relaxed feeling within Zettabyte's spark.

"I promise I won't. Thank you for your concern Do-Knock Out," the Cybertronian teen corrected himself with a smile.

"Anytime Zetta," Knock Out said, his soft features reverting back to friendly nonchalance. "Oh, and if you ever need my help, just ask. Project, check up, a little friendly racing, a holoform input, anything really."

"Hold on, holoform input? What is that?" the neutral youth with a look of confusion and interest.

The medic looked at Zettabyte with an equally confused look before his optics widened in realization as he laughed, "Of course! You're still new and you were a sheltered student! Sorry, allow me to explain. A holoform is a form of solid matter that we use to create a human disguise. It's a simple chip you can design and hook up to your CPU with no dangers. As you may already know, moving vehicles without fleshies in them causes alarm among the other fleshies."

Trying not to cringe at the crude name the older Cybertronian had given the planet's natives, he asked, "So, what can you do with the holoform?"

"Well besides using it as a way to avoid suspicion, you can mingle among the fleshies, mess with them, get up close and personal with human places and activities, and even purchase human goods. However, the holoform can't consume human fuel and the holoform can malfunction due to any injuries or viruses you may have. It's more or less like having a second body and you can switch consciousness between that and your real body. But you can customize it. And if you're really into trends, you can change any physical trait you want," the vain mech said with smirk. "Observe."

The halfa watched curiously as Knock Out transformed into his vehicle mode and remained still for a moment. Zettabyte leaned down closer when he saw something flicker within the Aston Martin's dark tinted windshield. He nearly fell on his rear when a human stepped out from the driver's side door. The human was male and looked to be in his mid or late thirties. He had a lithe but muscular build that went well with his pale but attractive skin. He had dark red hair that seemed to be tamed yet wild at the same time and dark, slim eyebrows. He had violet eyes that had circles of red around the pupil. He wore a dark ruby red jacket over a black and white muscle shirt and dark slacks and shoes. The last noticeable detail was the black Decepticon insignia tattoo just barely peeking out from the neck of the shirt.

"Not too shabby right kid," the holoform said with Knock Out's voice, smirking quite cockily.

"I-incredible!" the mechling exclaimed in low breath as he reached down and gently rested the tip of his digit on the holoform's shoulder. "It even feels warm!"

"We've made a few upgrades as best as we can to try to make it as realistic as possible," the Decepticon CMO said modestly. "You can activate it in your alt mode or bipedal mode. Either way, it works and looks rather stunning if I do say so myself."

Zettabyte stood straight as the holoform fizzled out and the vain mech transformed back into his bipedal mode. To say the halfa was impressed would be an understatement. He was astounded by the technology and wanted nothing more than to take part in it.

"Can I come into the medbay tomorrow to have it installed?" the neutral youth asked with a shining optics.

"Of course. Just pop in whenever you're available," Knock Out confirmed with a smile and a pat on Zetta's shoulder plating. "Well I better get going. Got some patients and reports to tend to. See ya kid."

"See ya," the Cybertronian teen replied as the older mech left and he shut the door before once again returning to his seat at his desk with the intent to get started on his blue prints. And maybe something else.

 _Four and a half hours later at Sawyer's house: Sasha's Perspective_

"Ugly dead creep on your right!" Sasha exclaimed to Sawyer as she rapidly pressed the buttons on her own controller.

"I see him!" Sawyer said as his character burned the opponent.

Not long after the two entered the house did they start making the best of their night. Following the recipe that Jennifer Storm had graciously left out for her grandson and his friend, the Goth and soccer player has cooked the cauliflower, minced it in the food processor, added the ingredients that would make it more dough like, shaped it, poured the sauce, cheese, and toppings on it, and popped it in the oven. The elderly Storm matriarch had even gotten a recipe for them to make their own pizza sauce. And Sawyer, being the considerate teen he was, had opted to put only peppers, olives, and mushrooms on it.

When the pizza was cooked and cooled, the two teens happily dug in. Just as the nature-lover remembered, the crust was just as appetizing as any regular bread crust. They chased it down with 7-Up while they watched _Titan AE, Cars,_ and _Wishmaster_. Once the movie was finished and the pizza was gone, they proceeded to play one of the _Resident Evil_ games Sawyer owned with the treats Adalia and Colette had supplied them with; Black Forest Cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting and lemon butter cookies dipped in a vanilla glaze.

"Yes! Got the sucker right in the head!" Sawyer grinned encouragingly as his character defeated the zombie.

"These suckers need to get a grave," the Sasha growled as her character was almost overwhelmed. The raven-haired girl pressed hard on the buttons before landing the killing blow on the last one.

After a few more minutes of playing, they decided to save the game until next time. The African-American teen got up to stretch and looked at the wall clock.

"Huh, it's already nine thirty. Do you want me to take you home now?" he asked his female friend.

"I think you should. I don't want the Sandersons to come over and worry," Sasha said as she got up and dusted herself off. "Or worse, find Midnight in my bedroom."

"Good point. C'mon, we better hurry before my grandma gets back while I'm out. She worries when I'm out driving when she's not home," Sawyer said as he grabbed his car keys which had a rubber soccer key chain, a Saints' medal keychain, and a reddish orange wolf keychain attached to them.

As they headed out the Goth spoke up, "Hey Sawyer?"

"Yeah Sasha?" the soccer player questioned.

"Thanks for having me over," she said with a soft smile.

Sawyer grinned as he responded, "You're welcome."

 _Back on the Nemesis: Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte sighed as he put down his wrench and rubbed his optics. Almost five Earth hours had gone by and he had managed to scrawl down a few blue prints and had finished the first parts of two of his prototypes. While it did help that the scraps were functional, he still lacked a few tools and materials that would have helped him finished them already. This was not to say that he was ungrateful for the resources and provisions of the Decepticons. In fact, they allowed him to do more than what his peers and teachers would let him do.

The cube that Breakdown had provided him with was now empty due to the neutral youth's constant sips during his blue print process. He played with the empty cube a little. He needed more materials but he was certain that the supplier Vehicons were already in recharge to prepare for the next day when they scavenged for parts that the rest of the Decepticons. However, the mechling was too awake to stop. Then he remembered something.

The Cybertronian teen looked around the room as if he expected to find someone. It was a habit he developed when he shared a room with the more feisty and energetic peers who had a habit of playing the Cybertronian version of the human game "Hide and Seek", playing pranks on each other, or hiding from irate teachers. When he was satisfied he sat down and took out some pieces that were meant for something that was not-so Cybertronian invention related. Setting them down, he began to gingerly start tinkering with the human-sized components.

"I hope she likes these," he said to himself as his focus was now on his private project.

Here's chapter 10! Sorry if it seems a bit rushed or not as exciting. This chapter and the next one is kind of the calm before the storm/tension build up. Sorry for the wait. Haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	11. Chapter 11: Rise of Phantom Z

Chapter 11: Rise of Phantom Z

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

" _ **Ha"**_ -comm. between Sasha and Zetta

 _In front of the high school: Third Person Perspective_

"Oh boy, what's going on here?" Sasha groaned at the sight before her.

She spotted a familiar sapphire motorcycle with bubblegum pink highlights and golden yellow and black muscle car stationed in front of the school. Jack and Raf were beside them looking worried but mostly tired. No doubt they were not use to getting up early but had willingly come in case things got heated.

"At least Bulkhead isn't with them," Zettabyte tried to reassure his partner though he knew the hesitance in his tone was obvious.

"Well we're not going to let them ruin our day," the Goth said bravely as her guardian parked a few feet away from the two robots in disguise.

Unbuckling herself and making sure Midnight, who was slightly growling as she felt the tension her unofficial owners held for the two vehicles, was safely in her backpack, the raven-haired girl stepped out. She wore a dark violet long-sleeve shirt with black flowers embroidered on the neck. She also had a gray and black plaid skirt and her combat boots. On her wrist was a stylish black bat-shaped watch and a black choker with a satin purple rose. Her hair was up in ponytail, her lips were painted with a dark purple lipstick, and her nails were a grape purple. She coolly strode over to the vehicles.

"Hey Sasha," Jack said with a smile.

"Good morning Sasha," Raf greeted equally in a friendly voice.

"Good morning you two," the nature-lover said with a polite smile of her own.

"How did you and Zetta get M.E.C.H. files?" Arcee asked immediately.

"Arcee," the onyx-haired boy said in a warning tone, obviously disapproving of his guardian's bluntness.

"No it's fine Jack. For your information, Zetta and I used the Decepticon Ground Bridge. They don't know he's my guardian. We had no idea that we would find a M.E.C.H. base. It was empty and a mess. Whatever happened to them, we don't know. We took the files as payback for them attacking Zetta," Sasha finished confidently, answering the unspoken questions in as-a-matter-of fact tone as if she was in a class debate.

"She's telling the truth," the neutral youth had gotten the courage to drive a bit closer. "And by the way, can you ask Agent Fowler if he's gonna tell his superiors where he got the USB from please? I don't want Sasha getting in trouble."

A quick sound of whirrs and buzzes sounded from Bumblebee.

"Bee says they'll ask. And he said thank you for the files," the computer prodigy translated.

"You're welcome," the raven-haired girl and ruby and sapphire mechling responded in unison.

"Sooo….Bulkhead called Miko's house last night pretending to be her tutor and told her about you two," Jack said quickly, ripping off the metaphorical bandage.

1…2…3…

"Are you kidding me?" Sasha asked deadpanned.

"I wish we were," Raf said uncomfortably adjusting his glasses.

"Well this is just fantastic," the Goth sighed as she plopped down on her partner's hood in exasperation and annoyance.

"How do you two even know anyway?" Zettabyte asked.

"Miko called us yesterday after Bulkhead called her. She lied to the Sandersons that she was calling us to confirm that we all had done the same math homework," the onyx-haired boy shrugged.

"She wants to meet Zetta," the preteen brunette said directly to the nature-lover.

"Well I don't!" huffed the halfa angrily. "She'll probably just threaten me like she Bulkhead does. Well frag that! I don't put up with that mech's condescending attitude towards me so I won't put up with his charge who has already shown my partner disrespect."

Bumblebee buzzed in shock by his fellow mechling's outburst. Zettabyte was quite surprised himself. Never once had he had an angry outburst or swore like that. Not even when he was having a terrible day and he wanted to snap at someone.

"It's alright Zetta. Whether you want to meet Miko or not is up to you," Sasha comforted before looking at her watch. "I'm gonna head into class early. I'll see you when you after Earth Club Zee. I love you."

"I love you too Sasha. Have a wonderful day at school," the neutral youth said as his charge got off his hood, gave it a pat, and walked towards the building, Raf and Jack already ahead, having said goodbye to their partners during Zetta's cool down.

It was then that he sensed that, in spite of their lack of optics in their current form, the femme and scout were staring at him.

"What is it now?" he asked trying to keep himself from sounding rude.

"Did you just tell your partner you loved her?" Arcee asked rather astounded.

"Yes, platonically. Don't you guys let your partners know how much you care for them?" the ruby and sapphire mechling asked but didn't stick around for an answer and drove off, leaving the two Autobots to quietly contemplate.

As soon as he was a good mile away, Zettabyte activated a special connection in his comm. link and spoke, "Hey Sasha, is the watch working?"

" _ **Loud and clear Zee. Thanks for making it for me. And the camera choker too,"**_ the nature-lover said gratefully into her watch.

"You're welcome Sasha. I'm just glad I have some way to make sure you're safe at school," the halfa said happily before their call ended.

 _At the Autobot base a few minutes later: Third Person Perspective_

"I still say it's suspicious," Bulkhead grumbled as he stared at the console alongside Ratchet.

"Yes, yes you've told me five times in the last hour. Now hush, I'm trying to focus," the Autobot CMO muttered irritably. "Shouldn't you be in your quarters?"

"I'm not a sparkling Doc-bot," huffed the moss-colored mech.

"True, but I don't recall Optimus saying you could leave. Even if he did, you wouldn't deserve it. Not after your behavior on Saturday," the veteran medic growled even more vexed.

"Can you blame me?! We were searching for the punk for days and we find out he's been hanging with the Cons?!" the Wrecker yelled. He regretted it the moment the older orangey red and white mech whirled around and gave him a death glare.

"Need I remind you that he wouldn't have been taken in by the enemy if you hadn't chased him out!" Ratchet roared angrily at the younger but stronger mech. "Your behavior is going to ruin our reputation and Optimus' good name someday if it already hasn't!"

Bulkhead growled as he prepared to retort. But he never got the chance as Optimus, Arcee, and Bumblebee came through the tunnel. The argument would have to continue later. Or disperse entirely, depending on whether either chose to bring it up.

"What have you found in the files Fowler has sent you old friend?" the Prime coolly asked the older mech.

"Just a few facts about our anatomy and weapons, including our transformation system," the Autobot CMO responded as calmly as his leader.

 **[We saw Zetta and Sasha when we dropped off Raf and Jack. He wants us to ask Agent Fowler if he's gonna tell his superiors that the USB is Sasha's. He doesn't want her to get in trouble,]** the scout said, recalling the ruby and sapphire mechling's words.

"Since Sasha and Zetta are not part of Team Prime, it will lead to issues between him and his higher ups, so I doubt Fowler will admit where the USB originated from," Ratchet answered logically.

"Well they're not gonna join anytime soon. When we told those two that Miko knows, they got upset," Arcee spoke up as she glared at her larger team mate. "Why again did you tell Miko about Sasha and Zetta?"

"I wanted her to be aware that her classmate was partners with a Decepticon sympathizer," the brawler grumbled annoyed.

"If anything, Zettabyte should be warned about Miko knowing about his presence," the femme said snidely.

"If you got something to say, say it," Bulkhead hissed threateningly.

"Okay. Everything that Sasha said about Miko couldn't be closer to the truth! She acts like this war is some game that she can just join like there's no consequence! Then when it falls upon Jack or Raf to be the voices of reason, she ignores them. Hence, they have to risk their lives to retrieve her before she meets her end at a Cons' cannon! When she's not jeopardizing her life, the lives of others, or our missions she takes everything and everyone around her for granted! I bet the only reason you don't tell her anything because you were just like her when you were a mechling; irresponsible, self-serving, and reckless!" the Cycle-former shrieked.

"ENOUGH!" Optimus roared angrily.

Everyone stared silently in shock at the Prime.

"Fighting will not improve Miko's behavior. Nor will it bring Zetta and Sasha closer to our team," the Autobot leader said, fixing his two quarreling soldiers with an icy stare that was colder than the glaciers of the Antarctic. Both Wrecker and two-wheeler bowed their helms.

"What's important now is that we focus on our own agenda," the veteran medic put in.

 **[But what about Zetta and Sasha?]** the yellow and black mechling asked worriedly.

Taking a deep intake, Optimus spoke once more, "We can only trust in their determination. And hope that nothing will cause Zettabyte to lose Megatron's good graces."

 _On the Nemesis in the medbay an hour later; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"There, all done kid," Knock Out's voice came to the neutral youth's audios as he slowly regained consciousness.

Blinking slowly, Zettabyte slowly sat up. While he didn't feel any pain, he felt a faint tingling sensation in the back of his helm. He attempted to shake his helm to rid himself of the feeling but was stopped by the vain mech.

"No, no, no. You're okay. You're fine. Your systems are just getting use to the chip. It'll be fully operational in a few hours. Just give it time then you'll be able to create your holoform," the Decepticon CMO explained soothingly.

"Alright. Thank you," the halfa said with a polite smile. Just then, a mining Vehicon came into the medbay.

"Hey Zettabyte, ready to go?" the Vehicon asked in a gruff voice.

"Yes I am. I'll join you in a moment T0-B1," the mechling responded with a nod. The purple mech nodded back before leaving as fast as he entered.

"You're with the scouts today?" Knock out asked in surprise.

"Well, yes," Zettabyte admitted.

"Well it wouldn't be my cup of Energon tea, I suppose I can't tell you not to. Just take it easy and be careful," the ruby red racer said in a tone that was akin to concern.

"I will. Thank you," the Cybertronian teen reassured with a smile as he left the medbay, not seeing Knock Out's still worried expression.

 _Three and a half hours later at the high school; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha sighed as she put away the books from her last class, gave Midnight a reassuring stroke to the head, and got ready to go to lunch. To say that the morning had been tense would be an understatement. The classes that she had with Miko were especially uncomfortable.

She hadn't looked to see but the Goth new the foreign exchange student had been staring at her. Sasha couldn't practically feel those eyes on her the whole time. She never turned around to make sure though. Not because she was scared but because she didn't want to give Miko the satisfaction that the Asian girl had her on edge.

 _If she thinks she can intimidate me, she seriously needs a reality check,_ the raven-haired girl thought with a sour frown.

As she shut her locker, she caught a glimpse of a ponytail with pink highlights peeking out from down the hall way. Rolling her eyes, the nature-lover turned the opposite direction and continued walking.

 _Just ignore her. Maybe she'll be so caught up in stalking you that she'll get caught by the history teacher,_ Sasha told herself, remembering how the history teacher, Mrs. Hendricks, had a bone to pick with Miko who would constantly ditch detention. Most likely to go bum around with her guardian.

The Goth huffed as she heard the squeak of Miko's own combat boots as she poorly began to follow her quietly. She hoped that whatever treats Addie and Colette had today had chocolate in them. She really needed the sugar boost.

 _Two hours later in Houston; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"What exactly are we looking for?" Zettabyte asked as he followed the small group, sticking close to T0-B1.

"Energon signals, supplies, the works," the Vehicon, V1-K responded in a bored tone. "It's a thankless job but someone has to do it."

"I see," the halfa said carefully.

The continued driving until they arrived at an open clearing. The six mechs and one mechling transformed into their bipedal modes and began looking around. T0-B1 pulled out an Energon Signature Locator and began walking around. The others stood high on alert and stayed close to their fellow drone. Zettabyte, however, wanted to explore.

"Hey, hey! You come back here, Zetta!" one of the younger Vehicons, S0L-0N3 yelled after the group's charge.

"Let him go. Kid's needs to get out," V1-K retorted.

Whatever else they said after was lost to Zetta as his focus was now on his own path and his hearing focused on the sounds of the wildlife around him. He saw a family of badgers shuffling near an old log, two of the young ones play fighting and kicking up dirt and leaves. Two otters cuddled near the bank of a small river as a rabbit gnawed at a blackberry bush a few feet away. Downstream a group of beavers were building their dam carefully but quickly. A fox perched calmly on a sun-warmed rock, cleaning its fur. A doe grazed on a small but lush patch of grass as her twin fawns nursed hungrily themselves.

As Zettabyte took a careful step towards the doe to get a closer look, the beautiful deer's head snapped up. At first the neutral youth thought she was frightened by him when her head snapped to the right, ears flickering. Suddenly, she gave out a bleat and took off, her fawns close behind. Alarmed by the larger woodland creature's sound, the other animals scampered off and hid as well. The Cybertronian teen gasped in surprise as ferrets, raccoons, ground squirrels, chipmunks, minks, and shrews scampered out from somewhere on the right, squealing and chittering, and disappeared into the bushes on the left.

Slowly turning to the right Zettabyte gapped at what he saw.

A large portion number of trees and plants had been violently disturbed. Some were partially torn from the ground and ruffled while others had been knocked down and stomped upon. Looking closer, the halfa saw that some of the trees had large parts of them blown off, the area around the missing parts covered with blackened ashes. Taking a step forward he touched the scorch parts of one tree. It was still warm. Looking down he blinked in utter shock.

Cybertronian-sized footprints littered the firm dirt. They were small and somewhat narrow, yet whatever made them seemed to have some weight as they were just as deep as those of any Cybertronian. And they led straight to a area that was more heavy with trees and foliage.

Zettabyte considered running to get one of the Vehicons but decided against it. If it was an Autobot, he wouldn't want them to go head to head with the scouting group in the midst of the inhabited woods. And he would never forgive himself if some bot lost their life today because he was a bit frightened. Slowly, the mechling followed the steps and ventured towards the darkened part of the forest.

He saw that the damage done to the wildness was almost minimal but still large. It had been done by some bot taller but less muscular. He sniffed the air and was surprised by the hints of jet exhaust he detected. It had to be a flier or a triple-changer at best. A few gray flecks of paint were found on the ground. He stopped at the edge of where the tracks ended and stared into the dark and dense vastness of the enclosed area. Gulping, he prepared to take his first step into it.

When a slim arm with a null ray powered and ready emerged from the darkness and pointed at his faceplates.

Zettabyte gasped and took a step back. He met the angry, hateful gaze of two bright scarlet optics. The face was hidden but he had no doubt the owner was snarling at him.

"Unless you want a hole in where your faceplates should be, leave," a high-pitched male voice came in a low growly tone. "I won't repeat myself."

Holding his servos up in surrender, the neutral youth walked backwards carefully. Before turning and running full-speed. He had no idea who the mech was or what he was capable of. But he wasn't too keen on finding out. Not while there were bots like the scout group here who could get hurt.

It took less time than he thought to meet back up with the group.

"See S0L-ON3, he came right back," V1-K said in a snobby I-told-you-so tone.

"Hey Zetta. Back so soon?" T0-B1 asked in a friendly voice.

"Er, yes," the halfa confirmed as he tried to look as calm as possible.

"Find anything interesting?" the group leader inquired.

"Uh, no. Nothing what so ever," the mechling lied, hoping he sounded convincing.

He hoped they didn't hear his sigh of relief when T0-B1 responded, "That's too bad. It gets boring out here."

 _At the high school three hours later; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha gathered her books that she needed for homework, trying to hurry so she could get to the safety of the Earth Club room. All through the day, Miko had tried to get her attention. She attempted to sit by her in Math class until the teacher ordered the Asian girl to retreat to her own assigned seat. The punkish girl then attempted to pass a note to the Goth in History but had been caught and sent to the office. And between Spanish and Health, the foreign exchange student ran to keep up with her, only to run into another student so hard that their water bottle spilled onto the Hall Monitor. Needless to say, Miko would be in detention for the next three days.

The raven-haired girl had been thankful that her friends and club members sensed her distress and did everything possible to keep the troublemaker away. They hogged up one lunch table at lunch, forcing the rebellious teen to sit with Jack and Raf as always. Alan faked a huge sneeze to draw the English teacher's attention when Miko attempted to talk to her, causing the teacher to give the punkish girl a short reprimand. And Amanda had nearly beaned the foreign exchange student with the volleyball when she sensed that the Asian girl invading the raven-haired girl's personal space.

The nature-lover was grateful for her friend's understanding but felt terribly guilty for the fact that she couldn't tell them why she wanted to avoid Miko or why the troublemaker was attempting to talk to her. How do you tell your friends that you were hanging out with a giant alien robot when you weren't with them? Even if they believed her, she knew that it would be a huge risk letting them get involved. What if the Autobots found out and made Zetta out to be the bad guy when they explained the Decepticons' intentions? No, as much as she hated it, she had to keep her friends in the dark.

She was torn from her thoughts when a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. To her dismay, it was very person she had been avoiding all day.

"So, wanna tell me why you've been avoiding me all day?" the foreign exchange student asked with a smile but in a tone that meant she was annoyed.

"I know your guardian told you about who I'm with. I think you can put two-and-two together," Sasha snarled as she began to turn away but was once again torn back around.

"What does that mean?" the Asian girl asked, a frown plastered on her face.

"It means that I'm aware that your thug partner talked trash about my friend when he called you. And don't lie, I know he said something terrible," the Goth folded her arms and glowered.

"Well, that's what I was trying to talk to you about. I want you to prove to me whether Bulk was exaggerating or not," Miko said in a-matter-of-fact tone.

"I don't have to prove anything to you. Neither does Zetta. Not to a bias Cybertronian-lover like you. The only other reason why Zetta is with the Cons is because your green bully decided that my friend wasn't good enough for the oh-so mighty Team Prime," the nature-lover growled.

"What?" the punkish teen was confused.

"Apparently, my partner acknowledging the fact that the Cons became who they are because of the caste system of the so-called Golden Age and having an optic that's the same color as the enemy's optics warrants physical and verbal violence," Sasha snapped. "Oh? You didn't know that? Why am I not surprised?"

The troublemaker stood staring at her.

"You might want to get to detention before you get slapped with another day of it and a phone call home," the raven-haired girl sniffed as she walked away. "Oh, and by the way, you may want to start changing your attitude towards the Sandersons. Hate to see Jack and Raf lose a friend, no matter how much of the fact I myself don't feel inclined to call you mine anytime soon."

And with that, she left the rebel standing there.

 _On the Houston freeway; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"All that scouting and nothing to show for it," V1-K grumbled irritably.

"Better safe than sorry. Don't want those Auto-scum buckets getting any possible Energon deposits before we do," T0-B1 said.

Zettabyte wasn't listening to the conversation. He was thinking about the incident that took place between him and the mystery mech. Was the mech a neutral or a rogue? Rogue were more serious than neutrals. They weren't just unaligned bots, they were faction haters. Marauders in the eyes of Autobot and Decepticons. They were the ones who were most likely to become bounty hunters and vicious assassins, sometimes screwing both factions by order of another species. It was concerning.

"Hey kid! You with us?" V1-K asked, sensing the younger Cybertronian's wandering mind.

"Huh? Oh yes! I was just calculating plans for what to do next for my projects," the halfa lied again.

"Well wait until we get back to the ship. You'll crash if you're not focusing on the road," the Vehicon slightly scolded.

Suddenly, S0L-0N3 shouted, "Incoming!"

In his rearview mirrors, Zettabyte saw the cause for alarm. In their vehicle modes, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead were closely tailing the group.

"Burn rubber mechs!" T0-B1 shouted as he sped ahead. Zetta and the others did likewise.

Luckily the road wasn't busy. However, a crew of construction workers were busy at the underpass that the Cybertronians were driving on. One of them saw the oncoming vehicles and began shouting to his crew members. A few got out of the way while others screamed at the robots in disguise to turn around or go around. Zettabyte and the Vehicons obliged to the workers' commands and switched lanes. The Autobots attempted to do the same. Their outcome was not so fortunate.

Bumblebee managed to screech to halt after plowing through cones and tape. Arcee attempted to jump the obstacles but found herself in a pit of wet cement. Bulkhead tried to make a U-turn but skidded on uneven gravel and slammed into one of the pillars supporting the overpass. Now normally a car slamming into a large, heavy concrete pillar would create only a small dent on the structure. However, with the hard metal that made up Bulkhead's body and the compacted mass of his full stature in his car mode, slamming into things made a lot more damage. Along with a large dent that looked liked it was created by a small explosion, cracks began to form and started to creep up the pillar like vines. Small bits of debris fell from where the cracks met the underside of the overpass and began to shake as they began to crack and crumble.

Zettabyte, in his vehicle form, saw the destruction and felt fear creep into his spark as the workers scattered away. The neutral youth took notice of oncoming cars in the distance and knew what would happen if the chaos continued. The Vehicons had called for a bridge and were waiting a safe distance. They were so panicked that they didn't notice their charge slip away from them.

Zettabyte hid behind a more stable pillar as he took out the dark green visor and transformed.

 _The freeway; Autobot Perspective_

Bulkhead swore as he transformed, not caring about whether or not the humans saw him. Panic set into his spark as the workers scrambled to get away and the structure began to crumble like dried mud. Bumblebee grunted as he pulled Arcee out of the concrete as quick as he could, which was a serious chore in itself. The femme groaned as she transformed, the concrete already starting to harden and stiffen her joints.

The Autobots knew that they had to think fast and act quick but what with Bulkhead's dazed state from the crash, Bumblebee's lack of experience in this situation, and the drying cement that was sure to slow Arcee down, none of them knew what to do.

"One side Autobots!" a voice called out harshly and determined.

The trio turned around to see a porcelain white and ebony mechling with a dark green visor running towards them. Or more specifically, towards the unstable structure.

The unknown Cybertronian youth threw himself into the falling bits of rubble and dust. Grabbing a servo full of metal pipes and rails, the newcomer began to twist them as fast as he could, his servo giving off a strange green hue which seemed to help mold and meld the material together. When he was satisfied, he began to press and wrap the pieces around the pillar and even added a few metal strips to the upper parts that were giving away. He held them against the structure until the cars driving on the overpass had either stopped or made it safely to the other side. Even when the noise of automobiles stopped, the mysterious mechling continued to hold up the structure, his arms almost buckling once or twice.

The trio had taken a step towards to help but stopped when he growled. Literally growled. It sounded like a twist between roaring engine and a primal snarl. He even bared his denta at them for good measure. It didn't take a Cybertronian science scholar to know that he wanted them to stay the _frag_ away from him. After a few moments, the Cybertronian youth stepped away from the structure but kept his arms at the ready if it began to collapse again. When a minute passed with no sign of the crudely made supports shaking, he breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed some of the tape and cones scattered around him. He threw them onto the upper road area so that future drivers would know not to cross. He then proceeded to place two fingers to the side of his helm.

"Hello? I need the police, paramedics, and some construction workers. There's been an incident at the freeway and the workers need help and the area needs to be secured and cleared out. The structure's been stabilized but I don't know for how long. Hurry," the white and ebony mechling said quickly in a lowered tone before he hung up, not waiting for the operator to ask who he was.

Bulkhead was the first to try approaching again, smiling as he held out a servo, "Hey that was a great-!"

Bad move.

The newcomer delivered a sudden uppercut to the Wrecker, almost sending him flying into his fellow Autobots. The scout and two-wheeler backed up in shock as the mechling cracked his knuckle struts. They tensed up when he placed a pede on the moss-colored mech's chassis and pressed down.

"If you ever endanger human lives while you're trying to chase Decepticons, I'll hunt you down, find you, and make you sorry. Do you understand?" the mechling growled at the dazed mech.

All Bulkhead could utter was a groan but they all knew he had heard the threat.

Stepping off the large mech, the newcomer looked at the two standing Autobots and said in a cool voice, "Tell everyone that your friend got his aft kicked by a phantom. Adios."

With that, he transformed into his vehicle mode and sped off.

Arcee slowly activated her comm. and spoke, "Ratchet, contact Optimus and Fowler. You'll never believe what just happened."

 _On the steps of the high school; Jack's Perspective_

"Why didn't you guys tell me?!" Miko asked her two friends angrily.

Jack wanted to scoff and roll his eyes in annoyance. No sooner had the punkish teen had stepped out of the doors and began telling them what Sasha told her. Then she started yelling at them when they confirmed what the Goth had said.

"Oh like you would have believed us instantly. Over Bulkhead," the onyx-haired boy snapped, recalling all the times the rebellious girl had disobeyed the Autobots' commands and waved off his and Raf's reasoning. The only one she listened to, almost most of the time, was her guardian.

"Jack's right, Miko. You do have the tendency to believe whatever Bulkhead says and take his side almost always," the computer prodigy added nervously.

"So what if I do? You guys do the same with your partners!" she retorted, though the male junior could see she was wavering.

"That doesn't mean you and him are always right. Arcee and I aren't always right either but at least we admit it. So do Raf and Bee," Jack snapped. "And I agree with Sasha! Zetta is good bot. So he's with the Cons. So what? What would you do when confronted with the people that your parent mistreated? And the fact that Bulk makes him feel like it IS his fault that Megatron became who he is now doesn't help! It only makes him believe that he owes Megatron even more."

The Asian girl looked ready to rebuttal when the Sandersons' car appeared. Not saying another word to either male, she grabbed her bag and stomped off.

Jack just shook his head. As mean as it sounded, he couldn't have been more happy at the fact that she wouldn't be at the base until late September.

 _At the Nemesis; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"Are you alright?!"

"Do you need anything?"

"Where were you?!"

"What were you thinking?!"

Zettabyte winced at the yells of worry and anger that besieged his audios. The Vehicons and Eradicons crowded him, probing him with questions faster than he could answer.

"SILENCE!" came a familiar voice.

The drones froze and parted to look at their lord and superiors. Megatron stood and glowered at his soldiers. Breakdown and Knock Out looked curious but more concern than anything. Airachnid and Soundwave showed absolutely no emotion.

"What pray tell are all of you arguing about?" the former Gladiator inquired.

"My Lord, Zettabyte strayed from the group when we were escaping the Autobots. We thought he had been captured or-or killed!" S0L-0N3 answered in an attempt to prevent their lord's anger.

Zettabyte bowed his helm, afraid that if he looked up, he would meet the angry or disapproving gaze of the warlord.

"Zettabyte, why did you stray from the group?" came Megatron's voice, holding a tone that demanded an answer.

"Yes sir," he confirmed shamefully.

"Whatever for?" probed the silver mech.

"I thought I saw a M.E.C.H. vehicle and I guess…in the heat of the moment…I wanted to confront them…," the halfa lied, hoping they all bought it.

"Was it a M.E.C.H. vehicle?" Breakdown's asked.

"No. I just thought it was in the chaos," the mechling announced in an embarrassed tone. "And I'm sorry."

Megatron paused for a moment before speaking sternly, "I understand your need to confront and retaliate against those who have done you wrong. But that is no excuse for leaving the group without your group leader's permission. You are confined to the _Nemesis_ for the rest of this Earth Orn young mech."

The Cybertronian teen looked up at the former gladiator in surprise. Megatron, the mech who had slaughtered thousands of enemies, had, as the humans said, _grounded_ him. It was surreal as the idea of Alpha Trion getting drunk

"Do you understand me Zettabyte?" the warlord asked in a cool tone that expected obedience.

"Of course sir. I'm sorry," the neutral youth stated as he looked at the crimson optics. They were firm but not as angry as he anticipated.

"Lord Megatron, don't you think that is a bit much. It was just a misunderstanding," Knock Out spoke up. Clearly the idea of being stuck on the _Nemesis_ was still too much of a harsh punishment in the ruby mech's opinion.

"Misunderstandings can be deadly in times of war, as you should know Doctor. Especially for the young," the silver mech rebuked. "My decision stands."

By this time, Zettabyte was already nearing his room feeling grateful for Megatron's subtle mercy but ashamed. He had never gotten in trouble before. Heck, he never even got in trouble at school when other younglings tried to start fights with him. Then again, it was probably due to Sentinel's influence than his or Theta's reasoning that he had not started the fight nor fought back.

However, the thing he felt most terrible about was the fact that he would not be with Sasha for the rest of the week. How would she take it? And how would she take finding out that he had been seen by the Autobots in his ghost mode.

"Well, better get this over with," the halfa said as he opened the comm. that would connect him to his friend.

 _At the high school; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha stared as Joaquin showed everyone his phone. They had all been planting seeds into the egg shells that they each brought when he got an urgent call from his older brother telling him to look check out the news in Houston. Li Mei, one of the other female members of the club, took out her tablet and turned to the news. Everyone, even Ms. Kissaryn, watched the clip of a severely damaged but surprisingly still standing overpass with construction workers, paramedics, and police officers flocking around it.

The moment Sasha saw the words _'Workers claim damage was caused by giant robots'_ , she asked to be excused to the bathroom which Ms. Kissaryn allowed. No sooner had she stepped out of the classroom did her watch go off.

Answering, the Goth asked worriedly, "Zee, are you okay? I saw the news. Are you hurt?"

" _ **I'm okay, don't worry. But you're gonna need to ask Sawyer for rides home for the rest of the week or use your bike. I'm grounded,"**_ came the mechling calm response.

"What? What do you mean? What happened?" the raven-haired girl asked.

" _ **I was with a scouting group when the Autobots started chasing us. We didn't do anything, we just fled. Bulkhead accidentally damaged one of the pillars supporting the overpass. Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead saw me in my ghost mode. I changed to help support the overpass. I didn't have a choice. I lied to Megatron that I went after what I thought was an M.E.C.H. vehicle and now I'm stuck on the Nemesis for the rest of the week. Please don't be angry!"**_ the neutral youth begged.

"Well I'm glad you stabilized the overpass. You saved lives. But do the bots know who you really are?" she asked, trying not to shriek in fear.

" _ **No. I transformed where they didn't see me and transformer back when I left and they no longer saw me. The only good thing is that I landed a punch on Bulkhead,"**_ Zettabyte stated proudly.

That piece of information made Sasha laugh as she asked, "What else happened?"

" _ **I told him I would hand him his aft if her endangered human lives again and then I told Bee and Arcee to tell the other that Bulkhead got owned by a phantom,"**_ Zettabyte continued nonchalantly.

"Phantom? Zettabyte? Hmmm….I got it! Phantom Z! That should be your alias!" the nature-lover crowed happily.

" _ **Phantom Z? You know what? I love it! It's got a nice ring to it!"**_ the Cybertronian teen complimented. _**"We better hang up now. I don't want us to get caught. Bye Sasha. I love you. Give Midnight a scratch behind the ears for me. I'll see you in a few days."**_

"Bye Zee. I love you too. And I will," Sasha replied as they mutually hung up.

"Mew!" Midnight mewled as she stuck her head out of Sasha's backpack.

Bending down, the raven-haired girl scratched the feline behind the ears and said, "Zetta's not gonna be home for a few days."

Suddenly, Sasha felt angry. Her guardian had saved lives today and was now stuck on the _Nemesis_ , unable to admit his real reason for leaving the scout group _._ Not without endangering her or himself.She saw red as remembered how her partner confirmed that the overpass incident had been the moss colored mech's doing. She didn't care if it was an accident. The big oaf had made his mark on her bad side and that is where he would remain alongside his charge.

Unable to keep down the viciousness she felt bubbling in her stomach like a gallon of lava, she grabbed her phone before dialing a number she had input into it not too long ago, bringing it to her ear as her call was answered, "Hello, Ms. Darby? It's Sasha."

 _At the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

"So Prime, let me get this straight; you're telling me that you have no idea who this new bot is or how he even arrived on Earth without being detected?" the government official asked with a scowl.

"That is unfortunately correct Agent Fowler," Optimus confirmed with a bit of a grave tone.

"How is that possible?" the middle-aged man asked, looking hard at the Prime.

"We are very dumbfounded ourselves," Ratchet responded from where he was examining a still unconscious Bulkhead. "I can't even identify him in any of the Cybertronian records on the console."

"Do you at least know if he's friend or foe?" the liaison asked impatiently.

"While his intentions were to protect and save those humans from harm, he seems to have a abhorrence for Autobots," the Autobot leader claimed.

"So, this mystery Cybertronian wants to protect humans but hates Autobots?" Jack asked, a bit astounded.

Bumblebee whirred and clicked.

"Bee says that he thinks the bot might be a rogue Con," Raf translated.

"Even if that were true, that doesn't explain why he was trying to help humans, where he came from, or why Megatron hasn't sent out a bounty on his helm," the veteran medic replied.

Suddenly, Jack turned to his guardian and asked, "Arcee, you okay? You've been quiet."

The normally opinionated and sarcastic femme hadn't said anything during the whole conversation. She seemed to be lost in thought. The onyx-haired boy had seen that far-off expression before when she was thinking about her personal conflicts. However, her optics seemed darker than usual until she snapped her helm up.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine Jack. It's just, I feel like I'm familiar with that kid," the two-wheeler stated slowly.

The team scout buzzed and chirped.

"Bee says that he called himself "a phantom." Maybe he's someone from the past that you guys forgot about," the computer prodigy offered.

"That's one plausible theory. It's hard to keep track of each bot we come in contact with during the war," Arcee agreed.

"But why save human lives? What could be gained?" the Autobot CMO asked.

Jack was about to answer when his phone rang. Taking it out of his pocket, he looked and saw that it was his mother. He gave the group a gesture which meant he had to answer it before doing so.

"Hey Mom, what's up?...Whoa, whoa! Slow down!...What?! When did this happen?" the junior asked into the phone as his voice became more concerned.

The bots, Raf, and Fowler stared as the male teen continued to have a conversation with his mother.

"Oh boy. How is Sasha taking it?...You're right, I can't blame her. Is Zetta alright at least?" Jack questioned.

Arcee stiffened at the mention of the neutral youth's name being involved in the seemingly serious conversation. She looked and saw that the other two mechs and mechling had tensed bodies and worried looks as well.

"Well I'll tell him but he's passed out right now.., Alright, alright. I'll tell Arcee to take me home now. And I'll tell Bee to do the same for Raf…Okay, I'll see you soon. Love you too Mom," the onyx-haired teen finished as he hung up.

"What happened?" the pre-teen asked, a bit more than frightened.

"It's Zetta. Sasha called my Mom and told her that Zetta's been grounded," the older boy stated uncomfortably. "Apparently, he went after what he thought was a M.E.C.H. vehicle and got separated from the scouting group when they called for a Groundbridge. He's not allowed to leave the ship for the rest of the week."

The golden yellow and black mechling whistled shrilly in protest.

"Bee says that it's not fair," Raf translated. "And I agree with him."

At that moment, Bulkhead woke up with a groan. He rubbed his helm and looked around in confusion.

"What did I miss?" he moaned as he rubbed his helm.

No one answered him.

Arcee whirled towards Optimus and began, "Optimus we have to get Zetta off the ship."

"Arcee, I believe Sasha or Ms. Darby would have alerted of if true harm came to Zettabyte," the larger mech said as he tried to calm his soldier.

"Quite frankly, if Bee drove off without warning while we were trying to evade the enemy, I'd make sure he wouldn't leave the base for a week either," Ratchet added gruffly, eliciting an indignant beep from Bee. "And considering what Megatron usually does to those who make mistakes, I'd say Zettabyte is getting off easy."

"I don't want him stuck with the Cons for an entire week!" the sapphire and bubblegum pink femme insisted angrily.

"I understand your concern Arcee. And rest assured that if any physical harm befalls Zettabyte, we'll bring him here and make sure he doesn't leave again," the Prime promised firmly. "But until that happens, we cannot attack the enemy without definite provocation. I am sorry."

Huffing irritably, Arcee mumbled, "Fine."

She then transformed and said in a less lowered tone, "Let's go Jack. Bee, Raf, you too."

Both human boys and mechling obeyed as Jack got on while Bee transformed and allowed Raf into his passenger seat. Not another word was spoken as the two-wheeler and muscle car drove out of the base.

"I better get back. I got paper work to finish," Fowler said as he walked away, unable to bear the uncomfortable awkwardness.

All Optimus could do was give a nod before he turned to go to his own quarters to think.

"Seriously, what did I miss?" the Wrecker complained.

Ratchet just sighed and whacked the mech with his wrench.

Here is another chapter. Chapter 12 will be the final chapter of the story. But don't fret. This AU has a lot more ahead. Once again, haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	12. Chapter 12: Unrequited Revelations

Chapter 12: Unrequited Revelations

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

Warnings: violence, mentions of death (not main characters), hints of intimacy between Cybertronians, birth, mention of breastfeeding, and angst.

 _On the Nemesis; Third Person Perspective_

"Now watch carefully Zetta," Knock Out instructed carefully as he began mending the unconscious Eradicon's wounds.

The mechling nodded as he paid close attention. The vain mech had taken pity on the neutral youth's boredom and glumness and had offered to start mentoring the Cybertronian teen in medical tactics. The Decepticon CMO had felt something in his spark soften and warm at the kid's eagerness. And what a fast learner!

After each lecture and example, Knock Out gave Zetta a quick oral quiz. The younger mech had yet to make a mistake. The racer had even shown the kid where everything was in the event that he wasn't there and it fell upon the youth to help whoever was sick or injured. It almost made the medic feel less unhappy with his lord for not allowing the poor child out for a drive for the last three days.

Almost.

The older mech couldn't help but let a smile cross his faceplates as his newfound pupil watched with great focus. Knock Out had never considered himself great with juvenile Cybertronians but watching the mechling carefully observe his teaching and take in his work felt…good. Really good.

"And done," the ruby medic stated as he finished mending the last wire. "Now we just need to weld some metal patches."

"I'll get them!" Zettabyte said politely yet slightly excitedly.

The vain mech chuckled softly as the kid went to one of the shelves to get the patches. His good-natured attitude. His kind temperament. His hunger for knowledge. His curiosity and respectfulness. It reminded Knock Out so much of himself when he was the mechling's age. Before he fell for the thrill of racing and the influence of the Decepticon philosophy. Himself and the sapphire femme who he had cared for so dearly. And still did. Heck the kid even had the looks to go with the traits. What if-

"Hey Doc! Hey kiddo!"

The Decepticon CMO's train of thoughts were pulled to a halt as his assistant and friend came into the medbay. The former Wrecker shot the juvenile Cybertronian a friendly smile and a nod before turning his attention back to his comrade.

"Sorry to cut your lessons short, but Megatron needs us at one of the mining sites," the blue mech told his partner. "It's in case the Autoscum show up. He wants us there to help out."

Both mechs turned to face the neutral youth. Their sparks pinged with guilt at the look of disappointment and abandonment that flashed across Zettabyte's mismatched optics for a moment.

Carefully, Breakdown began softly, "Kid, I'm sorry-"

"No, it's okay. Really. I'm alright with it," the Cybertronian teen said, hoping that his smile didn't give anything away.

"Are you sure?" Knock Out asked, looking the younger Cybertronian straight in the optics.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I don't want you to get in trouble with Megatron. I'll just finish up here. I know what to do," the halfa said kindly.

Forcing down the guilt building up in his spark, the racer responded, "Very well. Afterwards you can stay here, go to your quarters, walk around the ship…just whatever keeps you occupied."

"Of course," the mechling nodded in understanding. "I'll see you guys when you get back."

Reluctantly, the former Stunticon and vain mech began to make their way out of the medbay. As Knock Out began to exit, he stopped in the door way before turning around.

"You know, I hide Energon sweets in the lower cabinets behind the axle grease," the ruby medic said, smiling when the kid smiled sincerely back with a glimmer in his optics. "Help yourself."

"Thanks. I will," Zettabyte replied grinning a bit.

With that, the older mech left, feeling a bit better and almost forgetting his guilt.

Almost.

 _At the high school; Sasha's Perspective_

Three days.

Three days had gone by and Sasha still couldn't get her mind of her partner. Zetta hadn't contacted her since he told her what happened on Monday. The reasonable part of her kept trying to reassure her that it was because he didn't want to get caught. The more scared part was insisting that something was wrong. What if Zetta's interactions with her or the Autobots had been found out and was being tortured for information right at that moment? What if Bulkhead had managed somehow to get on the ship and beat him into a coma? What if he was slowly paralyzed and dying due to being attacked by a runaway Spite Mite who had appeared been hiding on the _Nemesis_?

No matter how many times she tried to push these unruly thoughts away, they always came back full force. That included right now as she tried to focus on the pages of the book she had chosen for silent reading time. She nearly jumped out of her chair as the bell rang, signally everyone to go home. Shaking herself out of her dark train of thought, she put away her materials, gave Midnight a few quick strokes on the head when no one was looking, and headed out. As much as she loved her feline companion, talking to her wasn't the same as when she talked to her partner.

There was no reassurance, no advice, no witty joke. Well maybe there was but in spite of Sasha's love for animals, she couldn't really understand them. Having the halfa gone made her mornings uneventful and lonely. Two things she hated. She tried to spend as much time with her friends and fellow club members as possible but with their own bus schedules, it seemed to be less than she hoped for. And she didn't feel right hanging out with Raf, Jack, and Miko just because she was bored. Her thoughts were interrupted again when someone called her name.

"Hey Sasha! Don't forget that we're gonna be planting new trees and flowers around the school today!" Chenoa Winddancer, a female member of the Earth Club, said to the Goth as she passed.

"Oh, I won't," the raven-haired girl replied with a smile. She blinked as Jack, Raf, and Miko walked up to her.

"Any word from Zetta?" Raf asked timidly.

"No word from him. And no, I don't believe the Cons have harmed him," the nature-lover replied firmly. It was a half lie but she would not give them, especially Miko, the knowledge that in spite of her trust in her guardian, she was afraid of the Decepticons hurting her partner in any way.

"The bots are really worried," Jack stated softly.

"Excluding Bulkhead," Sasha muttered. She failed to notice the foreign exchange student's guilty wince.

"Yeah, excluding Bulkhead. But the others do care about Zetta," the onyx-haired boy insisted.

"Oh really?" the Goth couldn't stop the sarcasm from dripping from her lips. "Then why can't they push their prejudice aside and listen and try to think about the things Zetta tells them?"

Fortunately, the hallway was empty. The three teens and pre-teen were alone, no one around to eavesdrop on their heated conversation.

"The war has hit them real hard. They're not really gamed for listening to speeches that explain why the Decepticons are what they are," the junior explained.

"Well they certainly seem game to kill their own kind and lie to themselves about the pseudo Golden Age they claimed Megatron destroyed," the raven-haired girl snapped. "How can they all sleep at night? How do you _three_ sleep at night, knowing that your guardians are murdering their own species and trying to justify it? You know, Zetta seems to be the only bot humble enough to admit that his species isn't perfect. And the only bot who would never kill another."

"He's also the only bot on Earth who has never been in battle for," the computer prodigy added sheepishly.

"Because he's not like your partners; he can't take a life and pretend it's no big deal like your guardians have done when they kill those drones or any other Decepticon. Before my grandfather died, he told me that a person's courage and honor isn't defined by their victories but by their compassion and mercy," Sasha stood her ground. "For bots who claim to be fighting for freedom and equality, they don't seem to have the merits to prove it."

"Well the Cons don't have the merits to prove that they're the victims," Miko blurted out, only to regret it when the Goth fixed her with a cold, steely look.

"How can they when your partners' faction refuses to admit that their Prime's predecessor was a tyrant and prejudice? Why can't they just admit that this war wouldn't have happen if some bot had gotten off their aft and stood up to Sentinel before Megatron lost it?" Sasha challenged. "You know, Zetta may think he doesn't have an excuse for not speaking out against his adoptive father's classist ideals but what about Bulkhead? Arcee? Ratchet? They were already capable adults while Zetta was just a little kid! Why didn't any current Autobot do anything back then? Why didn't they confront Sentinel or the High Council? Why did they wait until Megatron went full warmonger to say something? To do something? And don't say they didn't have the power or skills. Everyone's capable if they just put their heart, or spark, into it."

Her three classmates just stared at her speechless. Seeing as they weren't going to answer her anytime soon, the nature-lover began to walk away to her club.

 _At the Autobot base a few minutes later; Third Person Perspective_

Being in a war, Team Prime was always one edge. Ready to act at any moment. To fight to the death. To run if things got too out of hand.

However, the intensity in the air was of a different variety. It was stiff, almost watered down.

Bulkhead was pacing in an antsy fashion. Arcee and Bumblebee had already left to pick up Jack and Raf. Ratchet was busy fixing yet another tool that Bulkhead had accidentally broken while the Wrecker had been moving some heavy materials. As a result, the medic had ordered the younger but stronger mech to leave him solely to his work. Optimus had gone with Fowler to discuss the appearance of the mystery Cybertronian some human named General Bryce.

Ratchet paid no attention to Bulkhead. He grumbled as he attempted to fix his welder to the best of his ability. It took all he had not to curse when it sparked in protest to the tinkering.

"Ugh! Ratchet, I'm going stir crazy!" Bulkhead complained.

"How do you think I feel with your pacing all over the base?" the veteran medic bit back in frustration.

"Why can't I go for a quick lap around the base?" the Wrecker half whined, half asked.

"Because Optimus is gone and I don't trust you to go outside alone. Besides, some but besides me needs to watch the console while I fix the tool that you so _graciously_ broke," the older orangey red and white mech snapped. "You're lucky I don't weld you to the ceiling."

"I'd like to see you try," the moss-colored mech challenged with a snarl.

Ratchet rounded on him, ready to chew Bulkhead out and rip him a new one when Arcee and Bumblebee arrived with their charges.

Jack took his helmet off as Raf got out of Bee. Both young human males looked very…deep in thought. Both medic and soldier looked curious when the two-wheeler and scout transformed. They looked uneasy.

"So…how was school?" Ratchet asked, trying to get to the bottom of the strange behavior.

"Did you guys ever have any protests on your planet?" Jack blurted out, not answering the older mech's question.

The question came as a shock but Ratchet immediately regained composure and answered, "A few but they were mainly over subjects such as experimenting and observing organic life forms or stopping the bigotry against fliers."

"Were there any against the caste system?" Raf piped up.

"Only a few," the Autobot CMO answered quickly.

"How old were you guys when the protests began?" Jack inquired.

"Did you join them or do anything that was against the caste system?" the pre-teen probed.

"Have you guys ever shown a Con mercy?" the onyx-haired teen asked almost impatiently.

"Whoa! Whoa! What's with the questions?" Bulkhead asked suspiciously.

The boys were silent until the youngest of the two spoke up, "We had a conversation with Sasha today."

"And what did she say?" the Wrecker pushed for an answer, obviously aggravated.

"What does it matter?" Jack bit back.

"It matters plenty to me!" Bulkhead barked.

"Oh really? Is it because you think we're being lied to or you're afraid we may find something out that you guys don't want us to?" the junior gritted out, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes.

"Excuse me?" the former construction mech sputtered as though the juvenile human before him was a Decepticon who just spat on him.

"Now let's all calm down," Ratchet ordered softly as he got between the moss-colored mech and the humans. "Now Jack, tell us what the problem is here."

Bumblebee leaned down to be nearer to his human companion.

"You guys want to know what the problem is? Fine, I'll tell you. Everything that Sasha told us that Zetta told her totally contradicts what you guys have been telling us. Now I'm not accusing anyone of lying but the fact…" the onyx-haired boy ranted before trailing off.

"What Jack?" Arcee inquired gently.

"The fact that Sasha has more reason to trust her partner. Because he shares everything with her," the juvenile human finished. "Sasha's trust in Zetta and vice versa is proof that there's nothing they're keeping from each other. And they've only known each other for a few weeks. We've all known each other for a more than a couple of months and I realize Raf, Miko, and I only know a few things about you guys."

"What the Pit are you talking about? We've told you guys everything about us," Bulkhead huffed.

"Yes, war related subjects about yourselves. We barely know anything about you guys before the war. What your interests were, who your families were, what type of bots you hung out with, what were they like, what is your approximate birth date or the equivalent of it, what was your most embarrassing moment. Heck, we don't even know what your favorite colors are!" the onyx-haired boy exclaimed.

Raf looked up at Bee who whirred and beeped in guilt. They both knew that it was more than true.

"And sometimes I can't but wonder if the reason you guys don't tell us is because…you don't trust us enough," Jack finished gravely.

The silence that came after felt like an eternity.

Then just as Arcee was about to be the first to speak, the alarms went off.

Ratchet rushed to the console and reported the situation, "Decepticon activity near one of the larger caverns outside the woods of Colorado near a list of caverns."

"They must be harvesting Energon. I say we go there and grab it! And smash a few Cons in the process," the moss-colored mech sad with ferocious determination, slamming his fist into his servo in a show of strength.

"I'll contact Optimus. You three prepare to embark," the Autobot CMO said as he began typing the coordinates into the Groundbridge.

Arcee nodded before she looked at Jack again. His eyes were locked with hers. They were unreadable but he gave a nod, signaling he understood that she had to go.

"We'll talk when I get back," she reassured as the Groundbridge opened.

Her partner nodded again, but slower this time, as though he was holding her to her word.

 _At the caverns a few minutes later; Third Person Perspective_

Knock Out watched as the Vehicons loaded Energon into the carts before pushing towards where they would be transported onto the ship. The amount they had found wasn't as bountiful as last times but it was good enough for them at the moment. Then again, his processor wasn't on the mining activity.

It had been more than an hour since he and Breakdown left Zettabyte to his own devices on the ship. He knew what it's like to be stuck on the _Nemesis_ for extended periods of time. It was dreadfully dull. Being half Velocitronian, courtesy of his own absent father, the mech's need for open spaces added to that dislike of being on the ship for time that he believed was necessary. He could only imagine what impatience and boredom a young, free-spirited mech like Zetta was fairing.

"Thinking about the kid?" the voice of the Stunticon came.

The Decepticon CMO sighed and nodded.

"Kind of reminds you of someone, doesn't he?" Breakdown teased with a slight smile, try to lighten up his partner's mood.

It was slightly successful as Knock Out smiled and said, "Yes. Only without the trouble maker streak and the older brother who tried to keep him out of trouble."

The Decepticon brawler blinked in surprise. His friend rarely ever mentioned his past on Cybertron. For as long as Breakdown had known him, Knock Out had always dodged bringing up his past. The ex-Wrecker knew a great deal about his comrade's life but once the ruby mech told him something, the conversation was barely brought up again, if ever.

"It's funny. It feels like I was meant to teach him. To look out for him, you know?" the vain mech declared softly.

"And you seem to be doing a pretty fine job at it," Breakdown complimented gently.

"Thank you," the racer said with a grateful smile.

"Look!"

Both soldier and medic turned their helms. One of the Vehicons were pointing at a Groundbridge portal that wasn't their own.

No sooner had the Vehicon called attention to the Groundbridge did a shot fly out and strike him down. The familiar faces of Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee came charging out, blasters firing wildly and expertly dodging the shots of the drones. The Vehicons and Eradicons who were shot down were dragged away by their less injured comrades, regardless of if they were still functioning or not.

The Stunticon gritted his teeth as he saw his former team mate smack V1-K into S0L-0N3.

Turning to Knock Out, Breakdown said, "You're gonna need some more medical supplies. Get Soundwave to bridge you onto the ship. I'll handle these scumbuckets."

Nodding, the ruby mech began running in the opposite direction of where the Autobots were charging from so that he could find a safe place to call for a Groundbridge. The Decepticon brawler wasted no time in charging at the mech he once called his brother. His hammer met with the moss-colored mech's wrecking ball. His one yellow optic glaring furiously into the sky blue optics of the Autobot.

"This is the day you get your full comeuppance for everything!" the blue mech roared hatefully.

Bulkhead grunted as he attempted to push the ex-Wrecker away. He couldn't understand why Breakdown was so much more angry than usual. Maybe he could use that anger against him.

"That's suppose to be my line, Breakdown," the Autobot braler gritted out.

"Not when you're the one going around mistreating helpless Cybertronian youths. Tell me; when you and your team go back empty handed, do you take it out on your scout?" the Stunticon challenged accusingly.

That struck something hard in Bulkhead. His former friend had called him a lot of things during the war. But accusing him of being a minor assaulter hurt. And that hurt turned to broiling anger. Letting out a yell of rage, the Wrecker shoved the blue mech off of him into the cavern wall, dazing his opponent. Just as Bulkhead was ready to deliver a round of punches, he noticed a light coming from where Knock Out had run off to.

The light from a Groundbridge.

Anger and adrenaline driving his senses, he yelled to his team mates, "Try to hold them off. I think it's time for a visit to the doctor."

 _A few minutes later on the Nemesis; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte had been putting away the unused supplies Knock Out had brought out when working on the drone and the Energon sweets jar when he heard yelling in the corridors. Hesitating for a moment, the mechling went to see what was wrong. Opening the door and poking his helm out, the neutral youth looked down the left of the hall.

And stared in horror.

Knock Out was on the ground, groaning and struggling to get up. His polished armor was now ridden with scratches and dents. A trickle of Energon was flowing from his bottom lip and down his chin. Towering above the vain mech was Bulkhead.

Stepping out o the medbay and locking the door, Zetta yelled, "KNOCK OUT!"

Both mechs looked at the Cybertronian teen. Knock Out's optics were full of fear while his assailant's were full of something akin to distrust but more or less conflict.

"Zetta, run! Or get back in the medbay! Just get away from here!" the Decepticon CMO managed to shout despite his weakened state. The mechling remained where he was, either not comprehending the order or not wanting to leave. It seemed to be the latter as the kid made direct optic contact with the moss colored mech.

"Let him go! He's injured and unable to fight back!" Zettabyte shrieked in desperation and rage.

"One less Con," the Wrecker growled.

"That's not an excuse! That doesn't make it right!" the halfa shouted hysterically.

"Zetta…please…run," the racer practically begged hoarsely, still winded from the blows the Autobot brawler dealt out on his frame.

"Shut your mouth Con!" Bulkhead growled, kicking the medic in the side, eliciting a pained grunt from the smaller mech.

Something snapped in Zetta. Something hot and burning rose from his spark, into his throat, and into his processor, making him see red.

The larger mech never saw it coming.

Zettabyte ran full sprint at him before leaping onto him. He then proceeded to climb onto the Wrecker's back and shoulders and began biting, scratching, slapping, and punching every spot he could. The Autobot brawler howled in surprise and pain as the neutral youth, managed to catch the corner of his optic with one of his clawed servos. He stumbled back as he attempted to dislodge and pull off the mechling to no avail. He didn't dare use his blaster or wrecking ball in fear he would hit himself instead.

Zetta caught sight of a familiar form behind them.

"Soundwave, Groundbridge!" the Cybertronian teen called out pleadingly.

Soundwave stood still, as if hesitant.

"SOUNDWAVE!" the halfa screamed.

Without showing any type of acknowledgement, the silent mech opened a Groundbridge. Jumping off his opponent, the Cybertronian teen tensed up before tackling the Wrecker through the portal, throwing all his weight against him. Both Autobot brawler and neutral youth went through the Groundbridge.

"No," Knock Out managed to rasp in horror.

 _Back in the caverns: Third Person Perspective_

Breakdown growled as he tore Arcee off of him and chucked her to where Bumblebee was hiding behind a sizable boulder. Vehicons and Eradicons hid behind heavy mining drills and Energon carts. The ones who were still functioning anyway. Just as the Stunticon was about to advance towards the two-wheeler who was shakily getting up, a Groundbridge on a higher part of the cavern. Everyone stopped and stared. Who was coming? The Prime? Or the warlord.

To everyone's shock, neither came out. Instead, the ones who came, or rather tumbled, out were Bulkhead and Zettabyte. Zetta groaned as he opened his optics and got off the larger mech. However, Bulkhead never gave him a chance to get his bearings. Growling, the moss-colored mech reeled back his wrecking ball and hurled it towards the unsuspecting mechling.

The younger Cybertronian was sent flying into the rocky wall behind him, too winded by the blow to let out a sound.

"Bulkhead! Leave him alone!" Arcee screamed shrilly in a combination of anger and mortification. However, her team mate ignored her.

"You slagging punk. I knew you were a Con-lover," the former construction mech heaved in growing rage as he slowly advanced towards ruby and sapphire mechling.

Gaining his senses back, the halfa was able to dodge the ncoming punch this time. He rolled onto his pedes and waited for when the Wrecker was just barely turning around. Grabbing a servo-full of rocky dirt, Zettabyte hurled it into Bulkhead's optics. It was effective as the older mech howled in protest and rubbed away the rubble and pebbles trying to invade his optics.

"Not true. I just don't like merciless killers," the neutral youth growled low enough so only Bulkhead could hear.

The sapphire and bubblegum pink femme began running towards the two. Before she could begin climbing up to stop the fight, she was roughly grabbed from behind by two powerful blue arms.

"Let go!" the two-wheeler snapped as she frantically tried to pull herself out of the Stunticon's hold but to no avail.

"Like Pit I'm letting you up there to hurt the kid!" the ex-Wrecker snarled, having not paid attention to her earlier cry.

Seeing his team mate in trouble, the Autobot scout launched himself at Breakdown and hung onto his back, trying to get the Decepticon brawler to let go. The Vehicons roared in an outraged unison, running to the blue mech's aid. They began trying to pry the golden yellow and black mechling off, scratching at his doorwings and lower back in a frenzy. All the while, they were shouting encouragements at Zettabyte.

"Get him Zetta!"

"Frag him up!"

"Wreck his ugly mug!"

"You're dead Autoscum!"

"Kick his aft!"

The two Cybertronians paid no mind to the shouting and fighting beneath. They were focused on each other. Letting out a yell of anger, Bulkhead charged at the Cybertronian teen. Zetta managed to dodge in time and deliver a kick to the Wrecker's side. The former construction mech grunted in pain and turned to his younger opponent. Raising his other fist, he aimed for the younger bot's faceplates. Surprisingly, the mechling caught it and struggled to keep it from touching its intended spot.

They stayed lock like that. Zettabyte's pedes left trails as the larger mech began pushing him to the wall while his fist was still held captive. Growling, the halfa took the opportunity to knee the Autobot brawler in the abdominal area before running from where the moss-colored mech had been trying to corner him.

"You're pathetic, you know that? You think siding with the Cons will change your former status as that slagger Sentinel's adoptive brat? Well guess what? It won't. A half-breed noble faker. And that's all you'll ever be," Bulkhead hissed with acid dripping from his voice.

Zetta's faceplates were blank. Then, they morphed into a look that would have made Unicron shudder in fear.

And that's when he let out the most audio-piercing, processor-freezing, spark-wrenching scream any of the Cybertronians present had ever heard.

It was also at that moment that Arcee's crystal-like pupils shrunk in recognition. That pitch. That frequency. That volume. She recognized those. Now she knew why she found the mechling familiar and why she felt such a need to defend him.

Bulkhead, who had been shocked by the scream, didn't have time to react as he found himself on his back and was met with a barrage of punches that seemed too fierce and strong for someone of the neutral youth's age and height.

"How. Dare. You?" Zettabyte seethed in hate, each word punctuated as he continued to punch his opponent. "You know nothing about me! You know nothing about my ideals, my goals, or my life! Do you hear me?! NOTHING! You have no right to define me or my future! Or anyone's for that matter! There's only one bot who can define who I am! And that bot is ME!"

By this point, the moss-colored mech's face was covered in deep cuts, dents, and freshly spilt Energon blood. As the Cybertronian teen's rage died down, his punches slowed. When the last of his anger dripped away, he got up shakily and took a few steps back.

"I can't change my past but I can shape my own future. I can become more than I am. And nothing you say will ever change that," the halfa said coolly, and with that, turned to leave.

But the Wrecker wasn't done.

Picking himself up, the former construction mech heaved in infuriation ready to heave himself at the juvenile Cybertronian. But he never got the chance.

A strong silver servo with clawed digits grabbed him by the neck, hauled him up, and turned him so that sky blue optics met blood red ones.

Everyone gasped as Megatron glowered at the mech held captive in his servo, Bulkhead choking as the servo squeezed harder.

"Megatron, release him," came a familiar powerful voice.

All optics fell on the Prime and his medic. The last few hints of a Groundbridge disappeared behind him.

The former gladiator huffed in disgust and annoyance as he carelessly tossed the Wrecker away from him. He set his optics on the mechling. Zettabyte's body was covered in a few dents and scrapes but seemed to be fine otherwise.

Turning back towards his rival, the silver mech thundered, "Take your scum and leave. Your soldier's actions hold no room for you to voice your so-called moral reasoning for trying to steal the Energon that my soldiers have harvested with their own servos. And I think your attack dog needs some repairs. And a shock collar."

Breakdown and the Vehicons, who had now separated themselves from the two-wheeler and scout, snarled in agreement.

Looking between a scratched up Bumblebee, a catatonic Arcee, and an unconscious Bulkhead, the Autobot leader new his arch enemy was right. Gesturing for Ratchet and Bee to help him, they walked over and picked up their injured comrade, and began walking away where they could safely call for a Groundbridge from prying Decepticon optics.

"Arcee," Optimus rumbled in a soft but commanding tone. "Come."

She broke out of her trance and began following. But not without turning around and looking at neutral youth. He too was staring at her. As she turned away, she hoped no bot saw the tears streaming down her faceplates as she could feel the optics, she thought she would never get the chance to see, followed her form until she disappeared.

 _Five hours later; Megatron's Perspective_

"All injured soldiers have been fixed my lord," 5T3-V3 said as he bowed respectfully to his leader.

"Excellent," Megatron rumbled calmly.

While everyone was indeed aware that a few soldiers had been permanently incapacitated, the majority had only been wounded and were no patched up and resting. Knock Out, thankfully, had still been awake and functional when they all got back to the _Nemesis._ The vain mech had nearly had a spark attack when he saw that Zettabyte had also been attacked. The mechling was the first to get worked on, all the while every Con could practically hear the medic plotting the Autobot brawler's torturous downfall. Emphasize _torturous._

Now, like the rest of the ship, the Cybertronian teen was now recharging safely in his quarters.

"Will that be all, my lord?" the drone asked carefully.

"No," the ex-gladiator spoke. "When Zettabyte wakes up, tell him that his punishment has ended early. He may go off tomorrow to do as he pleases."

"Oh! O-of course sir," 5T3-V3 stuttered, obviously surprised by the usually cold mech's act of kindness towards the neutral youth.

"You may leave now," Megatron rumbled. The Vehicon didn't need to be told twice.

Once his soldier had gone, the silver mech began walking to his own quarters, replaying the day's events over in his processor. He couldn't forget the mechling's vicious attacks towards the Wrecker, intending to deliver more than just a few dents and scrapes. The brutality the juvenile Cybertronian had shown the moss-colored mech reminded Megatron of his own attacks against his rivals in the Pits of Kaon. In that moment, the warlord had seen a little of himself in younger bot.

Entering his quarters and making sure they were locked, the Decepticon leader walked towards a small chest-like case in the corner. Opening it revealed many pieces that he had held onto from his days before the war. From private sparkling-like trinkets to paraphernalia from when he was still a Gladiator to secret keepsakes from bots close to his spark who were long gone. There was even a few "trophies" he had obtained from fallen rivals.

Slowly, he reached in and pulled out an old silver medal on a steel chain. While the medal wasn't too big, it was a little heavy but not by much. Around the medal were small but still valuable gems and in the center was the Kaon symbol for champion. Megatron then strode over to his desk and opened a drawer. He pulled out a blow torch, a buffer, a belt sander, and a Cybertronian-sized screwdriver. The silver mech had found out the hard way that it was a good idea to keep tools within his reach, just in case.

Carefully, the warlord used the belt sander to rub off the symbol. He then proceeded to heat the spot with the blowtorch until it had heated to a point where the metal of the heated area was soft. Picking up the screwdriver, he expertly carved a new symbol onto the spot. Once the metal was cooled, he buffed it a bit to help it shine better. When he was finished, the medal's center had a new symbol. Two actually.

They were the Cybertronian symbols for "heir" and "leader."

The ex-gladiator held the medal close as he spoke to himself, "Soon…he will be ready."

 _At the Autobot base in Bulkhead's room; Bulkhead's Perspective_

Bulkhead didn't know what woke him up. He had been in recharge on his berth in his quarters, recovering from the day's ordeals, when something, or someone, had brought him out of his rest.

He looked around with blurry optics, not seeing anyone. Then the lights began to flicker. As the flickering worsened, the moss-colored mech noticed something strange going on in the corner near the doorway. A black twitching mass fidgeted in the corner before it weirdly moved to stand in front of his door, facing away. The mass grew until it was taller than Bumblebee but shorter than Optimus. The mass then began to take shape and change color.

The Wrecker's intake caught in his airway when the mass became a figure. Said figure had what seemed to be a light royal blue cloak with black flames on the bottom. The being was facing away from the former construction mech. In a flash, the being turned around. Bulkhead couldn't see the figure as the cloak veiled the mysterious visitor perfectly. The hood was up so the Autobot brawler couldn't even see their facial features.

His spark beat faster as with each flicker of the lights, the intruder drew closer until he was right at the foot of the moss-colored mech's berth. Bulkhead wanted to call out for help but was too frozen in shock and apprehension to move.

Gaining the courage, the former construction mech croaked, "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"Who I am and how I got is not important. It's why I am here that you should be afraid to know the answer," a voice rasped from the cloak, the pitch and tone revealing it to be male.

"W-why are you here?" the moss-colored mech managed to say in a whisper.

"I'm here about your behavior towards Zettabyte. You may not know this but I am very well acquainted with that mechling. He's like family," the mysterious male said icily.

The Wrecker wanted to shout in fear when an ancient but powerful looking scythe appeared from in a mist of dark powder blue smoke. A clawed, metal servo reached out from the robe to grasp the scythe.

As he did, he spoke again, "And you mess with my family, you mess with me. You. Do. NOT. Want. To. Mess. With. Me."

As the cloaked mech punctuated each word, his began pointing the bladed end of his weapon at the Autobot brawler who was now paralyzed with fear.

"If you ever put your servos on him again, you'll regret the day you were sparked. Do you understand?" the figure snarled darkly in a low voice.

All Bulkhead could do was whimper and nod.

"Good," the mech smiled a fake friendly smile, revealing fangs. "You only get one warning. I don't want to come back here. For more than one reason."

With that, the mysterious bot vanished and the lights stopped flickering. The only thing that was heard in the berthroom was Bulkhead's hyperventilation as he tried to convince himself it was a hallucination.

But he knew better.

 _Outside the base; Arcee's Perspective_

Arcee had not cried since she was a young femmenet.

Not when she said goodbye to her first love. Not when she lost Tailgate. Not when Cybertron fell dark. Not even when she lost Cliffjumper.

But now she was letting it all out. It felt like the dam she had built around her spark had finally gave away from the pressures of the war and everything was flowing out.

And all it took was Zetta's scream.

The scream that she thought she would never hear again. Not since Cybertron.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **A young sapphire blue and bubblegum pink femme mewled as she was kissed by an equally young ruby mech.**_

 _ **They snuggled on the soft metallic-grass of the Iaconian Crystal Gardens. Most of the metal and crystalline flora had closed their blooms, locking out the light of Cybertron's moon. A few small nocturnal blossoms dotted the area around them. The only sound that could be heard aside from their heavy intakes were Chrome-crickets chirping and small Cydrasets scampering through the bushes.**_

 _ **Turning to her side, ready to fall into recharge, she felt her lover's lip components press against her audio and whisper, "I love you Arcee."**_

" _ **I love you too…Knock Out," she whispered back before her optics closed for the night.**_

 _ **Five Metacycles Later**_

" _ **So…this is really goodbye for us?" Knock Out asked, hiding the pain on his faceplates and in his voice as best as he could.**_

" _ **Seems like it," Arcee said in a hushed tone, not looking up at her now ex-lover, too afraid that either she would see the tears in his optics or he would see hers.**_

 _ **An uncomfortable stretch of silence lasted for a few kliks.**_

 _ **Clearing his intakes, the vain mech said, "So…I guess I'll see you around."**_

 _ **It was more of a statement. A hopeful yet helpless statement.**_

" _ **Yeah. You will," her tone was a bit more controlled. She didn't know how it was possible.**_

 _ **When she looked up, she no longer cared.**_

 _ **Because he was gone.**_

 _ **Two Orns Later**_

" _ **Well Arcee, the test came back positive. You're carrying," the medic reported in a congratulatory tone.**_

 _ **The Cycle-former didn't hear him. It felt like a black hole had appeared and sucked all the noise from the universe. A coldness shot through her spinal array.**_

 _ **It had to be his. She had been with no other mechs since they parted ways. She felt as though she eaten a capsule full of molten metal and it had burst open in her tanks.**_

" _ **You may want to go easy. I'm sure your superior will allow you some time off. You'll need some low-grade Energon. Thank goodness Cybertron hasn't run out of that yet…Arcee," the medic, Stitchwire, questioned as he was yet to be barraged with questions that all medics would expect from their expecting patients.**_

 _ **But she had nothing to say.**_

 _ **Nine Metacycles Later**_

" _ **C'mon Arcee! You're almost there! Push!" Stitchwire encouraged with a firm tone.**_

 _ **The sapphire femme let out a long scream of pain as she pushed against the painful contractions wracking her frame. As her scream died down, another emerged.**_

" _ **It's a little mech!" the medic announced for the tired Autobot soldier and his nurses to hear.**_

 _ **The Cycle-former only saw a flash of ruby and sapphire before the wailing newborn was wrapped into a baby blue thermal blanket. The nurse, who was a seeker femme, crooned softly at the little one. She was tempted to ask to hold him but forced herself to look away.**_

 _ **She had made her decision. And for the sake of herself and the little being she birthed, she had to stick with it.**_

" _ **Everything checks out," Stitchwire proclaimed.**_

" _ **Yeah, except for the optics," the other nurse, a Praxian mech, blurted out. The nurse next to him, a flier femme, elbowed him hard in the abdomen as she glared at him.**_

 _ **That made Arcee turn around as she asked, "What's wrong with his optics?"**_

" _ **Nothing. Pyre is just being an idiot. Moondust, can you take the little one to one of the wet nurses?" the flier, Vital, asked the seeker who nodded and left the room.**_

 _ **The sapphire femme fought away the bitterness she felt as the nurse mentioned that HER sparkling was going to be drinking another femme's breast Energon. Just because she was doing this to for the right reason didn't make it anymore bearable.**_

" _ **You should get some rest," Vital said kindly as she and the others left.**_

 _ **And that's when the tears flowed out.**_

 _ **End of Flashback**_

That day plagued her every waking moment of her life. She had always hoped that she would see him again when the war was over. But it would seem that fate was far much more impatient than she.

And far more cruel.

Her child was now in the grasps of the enemy. While he was not officially a Decepticon, she knew that what had transpired today was sure to push him more towards their side.

The two-wheeler sobbed harder as she choked in a whisper, "I'm so sorry…my poor baby…my Zetta…"

 _The next day at the high school; Third Person Perspective_

Today had been neither good nor bad. It had been a balance of both.

Sasha had gotten a call from the greenhouse and learned that she had been accepted as a volunteer. She then found out that she currently had the highest grade in her biology and chemistry classes, which had become her favorite ones. Amanda had told her that most of the shelter animals they had met the first day they went to the shelter had been adopted into good homes. She had finished most of the homework during lunch and would only have an assignment or two to finish tonight. The school would start serving healthy, vegetarian meals for lunch every other Monday as she and her fellow club members had been trying to encourage the school board to do. Finally, the English teacher had allowed the students to read, listen to their music, draw, or finish their homework during the last ten minutes of class. However, the joy she got out of these was neutralized.

As it turned out, Earth Club had to be cancelled because Ms. Kissaryn had to fly to Rome for her cousin's wedding. Ruth had sent an email saying that the elderly woman would be in Dallas with her family for one of her granddaughter's father-in-law's birthdays. Both Raoul and Chip had been grounded for an incident at school involving nachos and a fire extinguisher. Now neither were allowed to contact her through anything except hand-written letters. Adalia and Colette had to babysit their siblings while their parents went out and they couldn't have anyone over period. Sawyer couldn't give her a ride home because the daughter-in-law of one of his grandmother's friends had gone into labor and she needed him to pick up her friend's son whose car broke down and needed to be there for his wife.

And to top it all off, Zetta was still stuck on the _Nemesis._

While she understood and tried to keep a positive attitude for their sake, she couldn't help but feel abandoned. And although she knew her guardian was just being respectful to the ones who saved them and trying to stay on their good side, she dreaded the idea of not spending time with her partner the weekend. Feeling like she needed to take a break before going home, she sat down on the empty school steps and gazed at the ground.

Jack gazed at his surroundings from where he and Raf were waiting for their Cybertronian friends to pick them up, a few feet from where the Goth sat. Actually, it either would be their partners or Nurse Darby. When June had been told about Bulkhead's violent attacks against the neutral youth the day before, she was furious. She had drove into the base, yelled at Optimus and Ratchet for letting Bulkhead get out of hand, ordered the two boys to get into her car, and drove off. While it was unspoken, the onyx-haired teen suspected that his mother didn't want her son or the pre-teen at the base for a few days. Since it was unspoken and Bee and Arcee were not there to be yelled at, the junior was unsure.

While Jack did feel sorry for the Prime and medic having been on the receiving end of his mother's anger, he knew she had a right to be upset. Being a strong nurturer at heart, June Darby had a large soft spot for children of all ages as her late husband had. To see a child injured, either because of an accident or at the hands of another person, turned on a rage inside her. It was a trait that she was feared and respected for.

Raf fidgeted as he looked between the older boy and the Asian girl who was waiting for her host mother. When the onyx-haired had told her what had gone down between Bulkhead and Zettabyte, her reaction was not to be unexpected but that didn't make it more acceptable. Miko had been disappointed that she had missed a battle between the Autobots and Decepticons but her disappointment wasn't…sincere. She was obviously unnerved by the fact that her guardian acted so hatefully towards a bot who seemed to have none of the other bots hold ill-will towards boggled and upset her. Jack couldn't look at her, knowing that she was half hanging onto the platonic bond between her and the Wrecker and realizing the fact that the Cons had gained a possible new allie because of the moss-colored mech's actions.

Surprisingly, Arcee and Bumblebee had arrived before Mrs. Sanderson. Just as the two boys were about to leave with their guardians, they all saw something who made them stop and stare.

Sasha blinked as Midnight rose from her nap.

"Midnight? What's wrong?" the raven-haired girl asked.

The feline jumped from her place in her backpack and rushed forward.

"Midnight!" the nature-lover exclaimed as she grabbed her belongings and ran after the black cat.

Until she saw why her four-legged companion was running.

And _who_ the little mammal was running to.

A boy about Jack's age and height opened his arms as the charcoal-colored bundle of fur jumped into them. He had ruffled but attractive looking pitch black hair with dark, forest green highlights to match his dark emerald eyes. His skin was a handsome dark-tan color and was clear of any blemishes. He wore a black shirt under an open dark denim jacket. Around his neck was a white fleece scarf with red flames at the edges. He also wore dark midnight blue jeans and silver and dark indigo tennis shoes. In one hand, he held a deep purple and black confection boz that was tied with a silvery white ribbon and had a golden cat sitting on a crescent moon stamped on it.

Behind him was a very familiar ruby and sapphire hybrid car.

In that moment, Sasha knew who it was.

Walking up to the other "teen," she stared at him in awe before hugging him, mindful of the smaller creature already in his arms.

"Who's that?" the punkish girl whispered in questioned to her friends.

"Oh my gosh," Jack breathed. "It's Zetta!"

Bumblebee let out a low slew whirrs and chirps.

"Bee says that what Sasha is hugging is Zetta's new holoform. It's like a tangible hologram that Cybertronians use when they're on planets and they don't want the inhabitants to notice them," the computer prodigy translated. "He looks great."

"So then the car is….," Miko trailed off in realization.

As the Goth finished hugging her partner's pseudo form, he handed her the box.

"They're chocolates from a dark-theme location called The Black Orchid Café," Zettabyte explained with a smile. "A little gift to make up for the time we lost this week."

The raven-haired girl smiled as she opened the box and gaped in delight at the dark chocolate bat shaped candies.

"I got four different fillings. Nightshade Blackberry, Blood Cherry, Candlelight Caramel, and Ghostly Marshmallow," the neutral youth clarified with a smile. "The ones with the white stripes are the cherry ones, the ones with the salt sprinkle on them are the caramel, the ones with the sliver of almond on them are the marshmallow, and the ones with nothing on them are the blackberry ones."

Selecting an ordinary looking chocolate bat, Sasha carefully took a bite of it and moaned. The combination of the bitter chocolate and the sweet, tangy berry filling was extraordinary.

"These are great! Thank you so much Zee," the nature-lover said with a smile as she finished the candy.

"You're welcome. C'mon, let's go," the halfa said as his passenger side door opened. With Midnight following close behind, Sasha entered the hybrid.

As soon as his two companions were safely and comfortable inside, Zetta, in his holoform, walked to the driver's side. He looked up to meet three pairs of eyes and two unseen pairs of optics. He smiled coolly at them and gave them a two finger salute before his holoform disappeared upon it entering the driver's side.

Arcee was tempted to chase after him but fought against the urge. After what happened yesterday, what good would it do to tell him the truth. And what if the Cons found out? No matter how much she wanted to grab her son and never let him go, she knew she had no choice. The two-wheeler would have to let him go.

For now at least.

As the Cybertronian teen drove off with his friend, the rebellious foreign exchange student muttered, "Aw! I should've gone over to talk to him! I don't even know what he looks like in bot mode!"

"Actually," the young brunette spoke up as he took out his phone, "I got a picture of him when he was at the base Saturday."

Once Raf flipped to the picture and handed the phone to Miko, her mouth dropped open as she stared at the picture. The same face she made when she first saw the bots.

Shaking his head, Jack spoke with a slight smile, "Things are gonna get a lot more interesting around here."

They all knew he couldn't have been more right.

So this is the final chapter of this fic, concluding the first story in my AU series. But don't worry, I'll update soon enough. Flamers will be flamed and haters will be ignored. I would also like to thank Speedstrek360 for letting me use her creators recognizing their offspring's cries idea and I made up the Black Orchid Café idea.

Til next time, Happy Reading Everyone else!


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